Imperium Rising Rewrite
by SotF
Summary: Betrayal of the deepest friendships causes a fall into darkness that will rock the core of the Wizarding World. Can they stand against a fully trained Sith Lord?
1. First Strike

_As most stories begin with the phrase, Once upon a time, but this one does in a way, but another fits it even better..._

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..._

* * *

Betrayal and pain, that was all the spirit had felt since his body had been destroyed within his Death Star. 

He had badly miscalculated in his beliefs on how wasily manipulated the Skywalkers seemed to be.

His backup plans were not yet ready, the bodies being grown within the Spaarti Cylinders on Byss were still years from completion.

And so the Sith Lord would be forced to wait, but he would not just sit.

His mind and force talents probed the force, its dark and probing tendrils of power brushed through the veils of dimensions and realities to look for ways to improve and to gain his revenge upon the remaining Skywalkers.

Oh how he wished to end them now, and perhaps his Hand could eliminate the brat before he returned to life.

An emination within the force, a sensitive of enough power to stand out like beacon amidst the flows of the force between realities.

If he still had mortal form, a cruel smile would have crossed Palpatines lips as he followed the sirens call of a possible apprentice.

While he could not remain in that world or he would lose his chance at his own vengance, he was still a Sith Lord. And as Lord Darth Sideous, he had an obligation to expand the power of the Sith and this was a brand new universe in which to expand the power of the Dark Side.

* * *

Emerald eyes surveyed the gloom as anger flashed through the boy once more.

He had ended up with the blame, the blame for Voldemorts attack on Privet Drive. The place was in ruins and Fudge had decided to declare him guilty in a way much like Sirius had been, a coverup of the Death Eater activities and his friends had betrayed him.

Now he waited in the gloom of Azkaban amidst the remaining Dementors, awaiting the madness that was supposed to come.

The only "companions" he had were his shattered wand and the corpse of Hedwig. The faithful owl had died during the Death Eater attack and the miniture war that had slain most of the street.

_Hello boy,_ a twisted voice came, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

_Do you seek power?_

_Do you seek revenge?_

_Do you seek to be free of what binds you?_

"Yes," Harry Potter stated almost without hesitation, the answer was something he had been contemplating himself, "I want to destroy them for what they have done, all of them."

_Good, good,_ the voice laughed, _Become my apprentice here, and I will give you the power to take your revenge and rule this world!_

Hope flashed through the teens eyes.

_Then rise my young Apprentice,_ Sideous stated, T_here is much work to be done._

* * *

Albus Dumbledore froze as he noticed Trelawney freeze up just as she had all those years ago before he hurried her out of the great hall.

The prophecy she now gave was troubling.

_Betrayed by the light_

_The hero shall fall_

_Gifted with power_

_A darkness shall rise_

_The power of life_

_The force shall come_

_Both light and dark_

_Shall fear his return_

_Blood fire shall herald him_

_His blades shall preceed him_

_Tyran he shall be called_

_Heir of those ancients feared_

_Those who betrayed him_

_Shall know despair_

_A shade from beyond_

_The farthest of stars_

_His teacher shall be_

_The world will remember him_

_For eternity._

* * *

Sideous' malicious and ethereal smile widened over the next few months as he trained the boy, taught him the legacy of the Sith and managed to use his power to bring a few devices from his teasure troves to aid the new Sith Lord in his mission.

The elegant snap-hiss of the crimson blades activation and the stench of ozone made him cackle as the last test of his apprentice was complete.

_Rise my young friend,_ he whispered to the boy, _Arise Darth Dion._

* * *

Azkaban was not quite what most expected it to be.

It was an ancient fortress built during a war between Atlantis and another nation, the war was said to have caused the damage that eventually destroyed the lost city of the ancients while their foes vanished to the mists of time.

Azkaban was one of their fortresses, and most of its secrets were still sealed away deep within its dark depths.

With these secrets protected by several enchantments and the powers that made its walls a home to the dementors, it was no wonder why the town within the walls was rebuilt as a prison for wizards.

Harry's trained eyes had followed the flows of the life energy that still flowed strong and clear through the ancient stones.

His Master had taught him well, using his dreams to train him in the arts of the lightsaber while using the days to instruct him in the other arts of the Force.

Memories flashed past his eyes as he descended into the depths of the ancient fortress amidst the flickers of torchlight.

Harry had been in chains as one by one his friends spoke of the increasing temper problems he had been having. The Damning evidence was when one of them had said something about his use of an unforgivable on Lestrange.

That had been the end of it, and off he was dragged to Azkaban.

Now he would turn that into the decision that would lead to the reshaping of the world if for no other reason than for the betrayers to watch their desires turn to dust before their eyes.

It had been a psitively delightful revelation that the powers of the ancients foes was the Force. The dementors bowed to the new Sith Lord after he destroyed their leader with a burst of saphire lightning that consumed the soul eater entirely.

Now he had passed the sealed doors, the power of the force had given him entrance to the sanctum within. The old powers contained within felt like an electric buzz across his skin with delight.

For the first time in millenia, the obsidian fortress of Azkaban had a true master.

The few gifts his master had sent him combined with the power of this fortress would be the beginning of the power he would gain.

Plans for several of the devices Sideous' Galactic Empire had utilized and the knowledge of how to utilize them to their best was what took up most of the things left. The genetic samples and instructions on cloning were another and a key to building his army.

The last one was the prize of his collection, a Sith Holocron, one made by two of the most legendary masters of the force and a teacher they both shared.

The teachers within were there to allow him to grow in power while Sideous returned to his home reality to take his revenge and retake his Empire from the rebels that had assassinated him with the help of a tratorous apprentice. And Lord Sideous had learned from him as well, several of the spells Harry had learned would enable to ancient Sith Lord to have an advantage he had not enjoyed before.

And now that he had claimed Azkaban for his own dark purposes his work would begin, and the world would soon tremble at the hands of Lord Dion, Dark Lord of the Sith.

The four cloning tanks he had completed were operational and his first soldiers would soon be ready. The upgraded engrams and cloning cylinders based on those his former Master had stored within Mount Tantis would provide him with many things and he would soon also have his first force wielding servant as well.

A clone of one of his masters aprentices trainees that had been slain by a trecherous Jedi during the clone wars. The first member of the guard of loyal clones that would serve as his own knights during his conquest of Earth and beyond.

He now wore the dark clothing of those who had built the fortress in which he now stood, wearing a mask his master had presented him after his naming as a Sith Lord and the cloak of the Dementor he had slain.

The crimson blade he carried held a synthetic gem forged in a furnace of his own building, and the gem was made from the ashes of his destroyed wand and those of his deceased owl.

It had been a perfect gem for a lightsaber, better than any that his master had seen, and comparable to two that one of the teachers within the holocron had used once upon a time.

The end result was a lightsaber longer than most with two lengths, the first being the normal and the other a wider and longer greatsaber design. It also had the ability to work as a wand if he so desired it to do so.

Stepping to an overlook of the bastions of the dark citadel, he watched as the wards of the place forced the last of the wizards out of his home and smiled.

The time of retribution was nigh.

* * *

His shimmering eyes surveyed the cloning tanks hidden in the depths of the fortress, deep beneath the surface the dim light of the controls modified from their original purposes.

Identical forms in all but one, his first soldiers and a knight for his comming rule.

The shelves of the chamber were laden with the armor he had chosen and constructed, taking a design more like the Clone Troopers than the later Stormtroopers. His masters close observation had ensured that he could later upgrade them to the later armor designs.

Harry had chosen those designs not because of their advanced nature, but because their simplicity compared to the later designs and the ability to add enchantments to it in order to make it more effective against the magical foes they were sure to face.

The pale green light of the tanks made him anxious for his next actions as the two construction droids he had managed to piece togather with the aid of Lord Sideous and from Lord Revan's aid coming from the holocron.

The power of darkness was incredible to feel as he touched his servant as the force sensitive aproached full growth within the specially modified cloning cylinder. The modified design built to prevent the madness in a force sensitive clone.

The clone would be provided with armor and other needed equipment such as a lightsaber rather than constructing her own.

He turned slowly and left the room to prowl the halls as memories flashed through his eyes again.

His masters early lessons on the power of the force against the weak minded had been enough to allow him to pick his first targets for his plan.

The mind of Lucius Malfoy was amazingly open, every piece of information was found within moments of entry into his head. The presence of Dementors was helpful in that their influence on the subjects without a defence through the Force.

It had been interesting to uncover that portion of the powers he now wielded.

The dark ones of the past had forged the Dementors from the strongest dead of their kind, sustaining their existance for the battlefield by feeding them the souls of their captured enemies and criminals. They were similar to the dark side spirits modified by Sith Alchemy, though in a way that the ancient lords of Korriban would never have thought of.

Magic and the force could be combined in dangerous ways that could not easily work, but potions and alchemy mixed easily and powerfully without the backlash of the differing powers. Infact the power of the force could easily amplify the power of potions and magical alchemy.

Eventually he could attempt to make more of them, and he had already found a way to empower a few of the existing ones to make them immune to the power of the soul eaters.

Now he was in those final steps of preperation for his own crusade that would begin in mere days.

* * *

The light rain and darkened sky was a disturbing thing for the insertion.

A single LAAT/i built at Azkaban moved through the darkness like a wraith towards its target. Only a few of them were already constructed for the time being, and they were readied for missions such as these.

The first team of troopers grown for use, a six man team based on the Arc Trooper programming combined with a pilot and gunners for the craft.

The LAAT was also modified for prisoner transport on its way out.

Their target was one of the big name deatheaters homes that had not yet been imprisoned since Voldemort's rebirth.

Rosier Castle lay up ahead as the craft circled high, the ball turrets moving slowly to look for any possible exterior threats before it settled down the courtyard.

It was only then that a message was sent through a coopted satelite, "Blue Squad is go."

* * *

Evan Rosier jerked awake in alarm as an explosion rocked the castle.

Moving quickly he dashed through the cold structure after quickly dressing and snatching his wand. An energy blast shredded his window as a strange metal object rose and circled, pouring bursts of emerald light that smelled of death and destruction upon his home.

He screamed in alarm after skidding to a halt in the entrance, noticing a half dozen white armored soldiers with blue markings on most, red markings on the last.

He fell an instant later as a blue spiral of energy sent him off to unconsciousness, but the alarm had been sounded and more of the enemies of the ARC Troopers came into view through the various hallways.

"Lethal force is a go," the leader stated calmly as he took cover behind an upturned table, the light repeating blaster that he carried was larger than the simple blaster rifles of his compatriots, but required a good deal of bracing that the weaker weapons didn't.

* * *

"Are you sure?" he asked the ARC team leader. 

"Yes, the location was hidden well," came the response from the red clad figure now known as Crimson, "It took the strongest setting on the portables, even then it was only suspected until Spark blew a hole in the wall."

Harry nodded slowly from his seat upon the obsidian throne, "How could they have managed this?"

"Apparently in a way similar to how Pettigrew survived," came the response, "There were signs of a stasis enchantment on the chambers, unfortunately we couldn't get a proper reading on the runes due to the damage involved in the recovery."

Harry leaned back, "Riddle doesn't seem to want to kill his traitors."

"It seems so sir," the clone answered honestly, "Either that or there is something else going on that we have yet to uncover."

"We will need more information," Dion responded, "We still have a month before my first knight is ready so interrigations will go slowly, and it will take a while before my Dementors break the new prisoners minds enough to break their occlumancy skills."

"Understood," Crimson answered, "There is one more thing, have you decided what to do about the intel gathered?"

"Take your team and stop them," the sith lord answered calmly, "Stun is for targets of opportunity only, I do not have the resources to replace you."

"Yes sire," the ARC Captain responded with a bow.

"Dismissed."

As the armor clad figure of his servant left the throne room, Harry rose to his feet with the ancient robe swirling about his own armor.

Striding slowly through his fortress towards the medical chamber he had ordered made after he gained control of the fortress using the sparse facilities of the prison hospital.

Raising his mask and placing it back upon his head, Dion stepped into the chamber to stare at the bastardized tanks utilizing a mixture of bacta and kolto technology to handle a more terrestrial potion to a similar effect, though far stronger and quicker in its base goals.

The mix was not quite as potent as the healing potions that Madam Pomphrey would use on him, but for their purposes, these were far better at their job. This was for more serious and long term damage for the most part, and the two heavily injured, starved, and generally mistreated wizards his men had uncovered were in bad shape.

The two were presumed dead, and infact it had seemed like their bodies had been discovered. In the end it had simply been the effects of regrowth potions upon portions of the body that were removed. The first he personaly recognized from just over a year prior at that damned tournament that had cost Cedric his life, and the other looked familiar, but he knew of him only by a name mentioned by his godfather once upon a time.

Harry wondered just what secrets these two held that they were not simply terminated, and when they had healed enough for questioning, Dion would know...

* * *

"The LZ is hot," came the response from the pilot as Dion stood firm within the LAAT in the center of the formation. 

He used the force to anchor himself as he glanced toawards the horizon, wondering just how long he had before the first rays of dawn pierced the sky.

Almost all of his soldiers were present save for the dementors and a single squad that remained to defend Azkaban. Six LAAT's loaded up for battle, two of them were the LAAT/c variant that were laden with a single AT-PT each and the one he stood in was loaded up for command operations. Two of the others were standard LAAT/i's and the last, which trailed in the rear, was the one converted for prisoner trasport.

Harry was nervous, he could admit that to himself and possibly to Crimson if the Arc Captain would have considered asking. It would be his first chance at real combat as a Sith Lord and the first real test of his lightsaber.

The damp air of the pre-dawn made him glad for his armor and cloak, the slow breathing within his mask was also calming, the voice changer that would ensure that there would be no chance of his true identity coming to light.

Leaning forwards to see through the cockpit, he saw the brilliant flashes of spells rocketing through the air with the Death Eater raid already in progress.

Apparently the fools had deigned to start their attack on the muggle neighborhood earlier than he had expected, an hour earlier was something that was unusual but could be a sign of the heir of Salazar's lack of trust in his servants.

An emerald burst made him almost desire to just burn the area to the ground with the heavy canons of his gunships.

The five laden ships came in hot, prompting an eerie pause in the combat where everything froze to see what had happened.

Then almost the instant it began, the moment ended when his troopers opened fire on the Death Eaters, taking care to avoid the civilians involved.

Dion quickly joined his troops by stepping from the gunship as they joined the last in the sky to circle and have their gunners pick off targets of opportunity.

The force flowed through him like a hurricane as he lashed out like a viper, the force snatching up a pair of wizards and the car they had ducked behind. They were thrown like ragdolls down the street with a high pitched shriek of terror before they slammed into a wall that the car crashed through an instant later.

The eyes muggles and wizards alike widened as the crimson blade of his lightsaber sprang to life to deflect a killing curse into yet another of the terrorists.

A calm flourish of the energy sword as he advanced through the battlefield like a hot knife through butter, force as lightsaber in perfect harmony amidst the chaos of the battle.

The blade carved through the resisting foes as his men worked on those within the buildings.

He was angry...

Angry at being late...

Angry at the deaths caused by these bigoted bastards...

Angry at the other wizards for not being there...

Angry at himself for not being able to save them...

Anger that then fueled his rampage through the remainder of them as even his own troopers stepped back in awe to watch.

His mind was clouded as his thoughts ended up on the reason he had uncovered from Evan Rosier only a handfull of hours earlier.

Voldemort had wanted to target several of the families loyal to Dumbledore and the most prominant in the eyes of many were the Weasleys. In order to make an attack on their home, he would need blood from a Weasley or someone closely related to them that wasn't already on his side.

The blood needed to be from a living source as well with the new wards their eldest son had aided in placing. That limited him as well, since the time required to get through everything needed would be the time required for them to ensure the wards wouldn't let him through.

So he looked for a close relative, and there was a simple target.

Molly Weasley had a cousin that was a squib that had a young daughter that was now on the rolls of Hogwarts for two years later, his spy had passed that information on without a thought.

The attack was a mix of a snatch and grab as well as a Raid designed to cover it up, his own assault now shattered his foes plan by removing their ability to escape and the clones making their attacks would give him an easy job at making a point.

He refused to involve the innocent in his battles unless it was absolutely necessary.

His thoughts returned to the present as one of the two walkers passed nearby to join the other taking down one of the houses that the wizards had holed up in with their grenade launchers.

"Lord Dion," he heard over the comms, his mind identified it as from Crimson due to the specifics of the connection, "We found the targets of the raid, only the girl is still intact, the parents are currently comatose with the believed cause being the cruciatus."

"And the location?"

"We are unable to secure the girl, five hostiles are fortified in positions and we cannot attack without endangering the primary goal," came the response.

"I'm on my way," Harry responded as he changed directions.

* * *

Augustus Rookwood was panicked as he caught a glimpse of one of the blue clad soldiers in white armor that had his group pinned down. They had managed to kill off one of them, but this was insane. 

He was a Death Eater, someone who brought death down upon the enemies of his lord, and these beings were far more dangerous. The metalic voices and seeming complete lack of fear in their actions coupled with whatever the hell those spells were that they were using.

At first Jugson had thought they were muggles for some reason, but the man was rather odd to begin with.

Jugson was not the normal member of their group, he had never taken the mark and none of the rest viewed him as more than mercenary working for whatever side would let him loose with the fewest consequences. He had admired some of the muggles exploits in the way of war, especially after a few years of his youth were spent in Japan after his graduation.

However, Jugson was also loyal to Voldemort and was a skilled warrior.

That was why he was glad to have the lunatic on his side with things having gone straight to hell.

Other than the two rookie Death Eaters, the only other member of the snatch group that remained alive was Rodolphus and he was nursing a nasty burn to the shoulder from a hit by one of those spells.

At least the idiot of a muggle wasn't struggling anymore, now whimpering in the corner after the injured brute of a man backhanded her across the room.

A scream alerted him to the new threat as a seeming beam of fire and light seemed to grow from the throat of the Lestrange before vanishing, letting the corpse of the feared Death Eater fall like a puppet with its strings cut, then one of the rookies seemed to crumple bones visibly twisting before an unearthly scream before blessed silence.

"Merlin," the other stammered, "What the fuck was that?"

"I don't know," Augustus stammered as he backed away from his fallen allies to stand back to back with Jugson.

The wall creaked and groaned as it distorted slowly as it slowly deformed with an almost collapse inwards.

Then it gave and the seeming wave of brick and plaster crossed the room like a tidal wave to bury their remaining ally while four of the blue armored beings and a red one seemed to move to surround them in an instant.

Then came the footsteps and their eyes locked on a figure that first made them freeze in terror at what they believed to be a dementor, but then they saw the dark armor and the face concealing mask with the blade of flame and they surrendered in an instant.

* * *

"What the hell happened here?" one of the aurors asked his boss as they surveyed the wreckage of a muggle neighborhood that had several fires that were still burning brightly amidst the gloom of the smoke. 

The bodies of the Death Eaters littered the area, left to rot where they fell while the muggles were precisely lined up with care. There were also strange marks, almost like a large creatures footprints, but nothing in the records matched what the ministry had.

Alastor Moody wondered about the situation himself as his subordinants continued the search through the warzone. It reminded him more of the last actual warzone he'd been to in his past, namely the time he'd been involved in evacuating wizards from Vietnam before that war ended.

This place reminded him of the wartorn streets he'd gotten turned around in while tracking down muggle-borns for the friend who'd gotten him involved to settle a debt between them.

The only good that could come of this was that it was the Death Eaters that were slaughtered in the end.

One thing his trained eye knew was that the unknown force attacked with precision, something highly unusual for any wizarding combat group. Not even the American strike teams that he knew of would operate in such a way as wizarding combat just didn't operate that way, and something breaking that rule was a truely terrifying thing.

* * *

Harry wondered about the reactions his next actions would cause as he reclined upon his throne. 

The girl and her parents were now in the fortress, though the prospects for her parents were grim due to the mental damage from torture. The girl had suprisingly bonded with Crimson in the last few days.

She was a sensitive though, and could in time be a worthy apprentice if he believed she was mentally prepared for it.

He had seen the degredation that Palpatines lack of control had caused to his body and refused to allow that same lack of control to infect him or those he trained. Dion would follow the instructors from the holocron first rather than the more recent ones that relied upon their emotions far to much while in the past they controlled their emotions without letting their fueling emotions control them.

The guilt that lay within him confirmed his course for him.

Harry did not feel guilty about the extermination of the Death Eaters any more than one would a slapped fly or trapped rat. He did, however, feel guilty for being to late to save most of the muggles in the area.

The fight was one that Riddle had no business involving civilians in, but it seemed that the wizards on both sides saw no reason to work to protect them during their battles unless it was for another reason.

Very few wizards would follow his ideals in combat, but he would need allies to complete his plan without having to deal with the ire of several individuals capable of being a nuisance to his plans though they would, in the end, be incapable of stopping him it would be an aggravation he could do without.

A piece of good news was that the medical droid had reported that the two rescued from the Death Eaters were in fact who he had believed them to be.

Igor Karkaroff, the former headmaster of Durmstrang, was the first, and his injuries had been the worst as they hadn't had the time to heal that the other had.

Yes, the other was the interesting one, Regulas Black was still amidst the living...

His dementors were working overtime to crack the minds of the captives from both of his own attacks while considering an offer from one of the two.

Alexander Jugson was an interesting being to contemplate.

The man was a violent fool who desired little more than to be set loose to kill anything he could be pointed at. In the end the offer had been rejected because the man had no real loyalty other than to the strongest he could find.

Eventually Dion paused in his meditiations when he realized that his next plan would need his presnece and would begin soon.

* * *

Cornelius Oswald Fudge froze as he entered his office.

The candles and the fireplace had died out as soon as he had entered and the door slammed shut behind him, sounding almost as a prison door would.

"Hello minister," came a rough and deep voice ahead of him as the cold touched his soul.

A mote of light seemed to appear, barely enough to illuminate the masked figure before him. The sphere of blood red light hovered above a gauntleted hand. The mask was not the skull like mask of a death eater, but something far more dangerous and terrifying in the light.

A brief motion brought his attention to the flanking figures that had passed his intial sight. Two were dementors, and the other wore armor that seemed to be metallic white.

The politician couldn't help it and squeaked in fear as a chair was conjured right behind him and an invisible hand forced him to sit.

"I believe that it is about time that we spoke."

* * *

The lightsaber spun in a flourish, crimson blade a mere blur as he leaped clear of the attack. 

A wash of flame blackened the stone on which he had been standing.

He felt the force flowing through him clearly, the raw power that made him feel so alive.

This plan was his alone, something to do while waiting for the next part of his overall plan.

Harry dodged yet another blast of dragon fire as the blade left a glowing trail where the tip had brushed the stones of the beasts lair.

It had taken him a week to use the satelites to locate the nest of a dragon, and in the end he had settled, for the time being, on a Welsh Green.

His grin widened as he lashed out throught he force, retaliating with the saphire sparks of force lightning that made the winged leviathan rear up and roar in pain within the burnt out grotto that lay before the entrance to the creatures actual nesting place.

Crimson was waiting in the gunship circling, but he would face alone if he could as a test of his powers.

One example he had now seen was that while the dragons were nigh impervius to magic and steel, the iron content of those defenses left a wide open choice, namely electical attacks such as his force lightning or even a higher powered tazer would do be highly effective at stopping them and driving them back.

Another blast of the cackling energy sent it back into a wall, leaving the massive reptilian beast almost whimpering in pain as Harry gave the signal to his servant and the LAAT/c rose into the air to release a charged net over the injured and twitching monster as he leaned back to catch his breath while a team of Clone Commando's exited a second gunship to secure the dragon for transport before he would proceed to recover any eggs within the nest.

He raised his mask to allow himself to breathe easier and relaxed into the force to ward off fatigue as Crimson joined him with a satchel including water to help.

The clone was loyal, even beyond the standard clones of his type and proved it. Unlike most of the Sith Lords, he would reward that loyalty by granting more power along with the responsibility for it as well.

Crimson would soon become the first of his guards, changing into the red of the royal guard his master had used, especially since the clone had all but adopted the Prewett girl since her rescue. She had yet to actually talk to anyone, and he would prefer not to use his abilities on her mind unless it was necesary although, in the end, that meant that he still didn't know her actual name.

He nodded to his bodyguard and rose, motioning towards the actual nest and replaced his mask with a calm motion.

In the end the eggs would be the beginning of a plan to create some monsterous beasts in the way that his mentor had. While he could not compete with a Crystalide Rancor, he could make his own version of the H'ssiss' on this world.

The depths were a strange place, especially in a dragons nest.

The damp and dark surroundings coupled with an almost swamplike atmosphere that the bloody light of the saber did little to push back as the armored duo maneuvered slowly through the cavern.

The roughly hewn stone occasionally blasted smooth by dragonfire was impressive due to its size, even for a dragon of the size that had made it.

Harry was on edge as he probed the shadows with the force while Crimson's helmet included the nightvision gear that his own ancient mask would not be able to use.

However nerve wracking, this adventure was an almost relaxing change of pace from convincing Fudge to go along with his plans. He had been forced to use the powers of persuasion given by the force in the end, but the mans desire to discredit Dumbledore was the main key and the weak minded fool's description had reminded him of how one of his teachers had described Toydarians.

The fool was easily convinced that Dumbledores little bird club was a threat, enough so that he had written an order that allowed Dion to round them up as enemies of the state while letting him bypass standard laws in such a pursuit.

That permission was enough to allow him to start his other plans without any fear of having to deal with the Aurors unless he had to, at least until he could purge their ranks as well.

His eyes caugh a glimpse of the prize and he signaled to Crimson to call in the collection team to retrieve them.

* * *

The plan for his next attack had been suggested by the teacher of Revan on the holocron and had been worked out with the plans for devices that Palpatine had not seen in his lifetime. 

Revan and several of the Sith Lords of his era had seen them, and they knew the power of their type of attack.

Sideous was an effective politcal force, but not as much of a military one. He had used several others to plan the military side of things such as his Grand Admirals.

Crimson had been given the guardsman armor rather than the usual armor he was used to, his position as field commander for the clones was taken up by one of the other ARCs that left two rookie ARCs and another new clone to fill up the roster of his active soldiers.

He only had a few more days until his knight was ready, the slower cloning process required for a force sensitive was frustrating, but prevented the malady known as clone madness.

His plans for dealing with the Order were on hold until Dumbledore arrived at Hogwarts, the man was apparently spending most of histime elsewhere and he wanted that strike to be very public.

The construction of a single thing specifically for the next attack he had planned, something that could safely be unleashed with the target area having been abandoned as "unsafe" by the muggles.

Little Hangleton was one of the major centers of Voldemorts power, and he planned to shatter that powerbase in one fell stroke.

His plan was a two pronged assault, starting with a small group utilizing a rapid blitz at the Riddle House itself. The second part would happen after the fight began, the LAAT's would deploy the rest of his forces into the surrounding area before providing air support.

His ARC's, however, would have a seperate mission in the area and would be equipped with the first few versions of the combat speederbikes for their own skirmish as a preperation against any of the Death Eaters who decided to use brooms in the conflict.

He would burn Little Hangleton to the ground and would make the snake lord know that he was the hunted now...

* * *

The evening calm of Little Hangleton had recently become even quieter as the disappearances and "accidents" slowly drove the inhabitants from their homes and to other portions of the country. 

However that peace was shattered by what, at first glance, appeared to be a fireball descending from the sky like a meteor.

Avery's eyes turned skywards in shock, just in time to take the full blast of the upgraded Basilisk War Droids thrusters that slowed the craft down enough to land without harming its crew.

The mechanical behemoth landed with a roar as the ground compacted beneath the veranda, absolute silence filled the town as the Death Eaters moved to see what had happened.

Then the hiss of releasing steam filled the air along with the mist that concealed the sight but not sound of the hatch opening to the sky.

A sudden flash of scarlet in motion drew their attention upwards as the armored form of Crimson leaped while firing his customized light repeating blaster at full auto into the gathered Death Eaters before landing in a crouch.

"Sir," he stated calmly as he finished a clean sweep of the gathered dark wizards, "Dropzone cleared, ready to proceed."

Dion used the force to leviate free of the tight confines of the craft and joined his bodyguard atop the droind before both leaped to the ground and headed into the Riddle Manor they had targeted.

Harry activated his lightsaber, the blood red energy cascade hissing in the growing mist of the evening fog mixed with the steam of their landing.

A wave of force energy ripped the ancient, oaken, double doors off their hinges and into the building a moment before spells started flying at the pair of warriors.

Reaching deep within the force and grasping his enemies presence firmly, Harry utilized a slight modifiaction of one Exar Kun's stunts.

The screams began inside as the spells stopped coming through the ruined entranceway, the force ripping power from the targets to fuel a few wards he was putting up to prevent the rats from escaping his grasp.

A moment later the agonizing screams ended with the lives of his enemies.

"All units," he stated into the comlink in a wrist mounted computer, "Containment wards are up, commence assault."

"Roger," came the answer as Crimson and Dion entered the manor to see the dessicated enemies, the remnants of lives drained of their very essences by the power of the dark side.

Harry's cloak swirled around him as his heavily armored companion walked just behind and to the left.

Crimson laid a hand on his Lord's shoulder and pointed to the ceiling, the smirk plainly visible to Harry even through their masks and nodded in response.

* * *

Severus Snape was in hell.

He finally admitted that, and hoped he could get out of this one with his skin intact.

Over the past several weeks, the Dark Lord had been troubled by massive and unexplainable losses that started with the loss of the Rosiers and two prisoners that Voldemort had refused to divulge the names of.

He was involved in this madness entirely because he wanted to be on the winning side, and at first playing both sides off of each other was working but that had ended.

A distant explosion rocked the old manor house and a glance out the window showed what looked like gigantic metal birds walking towards them firing off some sort of spell that he couldn't identify but had to be some variant of the blasting hex.

And then he froze as the stench of burning wood touched his nostrils a moment before a burning tube of red flame shot up through the floor and looped around him in a complete circle before he realized what had happened.

"Shit," he managed to stammer before the floor collapsed under him to send him plummeting to the floor below and slam to the ground with a bone jarring impact.

His black eyes adjusted to the limited light of the entryway and saw a helmeted form staring at him right before a blue beam hit him dead on and sent him to unconsciousness.

* * *

A feral growl brought both the siths and clones attention to a figure that slowly began to change. 

"Am I missing something here?" Crimson asked as he stepped back.

With a glance down at the computer, Harry gulped before answering, "Damn, it's a full moon and that's a werewolf!"

The clone nodded slowly while bringing his blaster to firing position, "Go, I'll handle the furball."

Without hesitation, Dion used the force to leap through the hole he had carved in the ceiling while the guardsman readied himself for the next battle.

The armored boots impact on the wooden flooring echoing as he landed in a crouch.

Dion moved forwards, bisecting the nearest foe and continuing, becoming a whirling engine of death and dismemberment amidst the screams of the dead and dying.

He did not even pause when shattering another door with a blow backed by the force and a flying death eater.

Harry did, however, stop when he heard the last remaining deatheater draw a sword.

A small smirk graced his lips for a moment as he turned to see who would dare challenge a master of the sith arts to a duel of the blades.

"Rastaban Lestrange," he commented slowly, the mask distorting his voice as he spun his ruby blade, "What a pleasant suprise, I've been wanting to wipe out that stain of a family you are part of."

The energy blade and the rapier clashed, but the blade held against the strike, both combatants pressing the other.

"I must say that you blade is impressive," Dion remarked offhandedly, "Usually mine slices through just about anything with little to no effort."

The dark wizard grunted in effort before a blast of force energy sent him back several steps.

"Now what is your secret?" the sith lord asked as a leap carried him over his foe like a blur.

His gentle touch with a mind probe gave him the answer, "Ah, such a naughty one you are, unbreakable AND sharpening charms, I must say that it is quite devious of you."

Spinning and bringing his blade up, "But you must know..."

He met the next charge, using the saber to run his foe through.

Harry stared into the fading eyes as the dying man let out a gasp for air, "...you cannot win."

Steping to the side while deactivating his saber, Dion let the man fall to the ground while snatching up the rapier.

"I believe that this could do better in my hands," he stated to the fallen Lestrange before feeling the place was all but empty, the rest of the Death Eaters escaping through the air on the roof.

A glance out the window saw the ARC squad swoop down on BARC's to deal with the escapees.

Harry's attention turned back to the gasping man on the floor, "It looks like your 'all so noble' sacrifice was in vain, but I believe that I will let you live for now and let you take a message for me to your pathetic master, tell him that the Sith is comming and nothing can stand in the way."

* * *

Crimson dodged the beastial assault by the greying wolfman that was attacking him, the burns of a half-dozen blaster shots still smouldering on its flesh. 

The creature moved fast and a suprise strike sent sparks into the air where the claws met armor before the beast sent his blaster flying.

That annoyed the soldier as he lashed out, driving his knee into the werewolf's stomach with enough force to send the creature tumbling end over end as he drew his vibrodagger.

"Look's like I've been forced to skin a wolf," he muttered to himself as he dodged another attack, "The old fashioned way."

Another kick, this one taking a full rotation from the guardsman before the attack connected, sending the silver furred monster across the room before throwing the weapon.

A high pitched yelp burst from the were as the blade pierced its arm at the elbow, severing the lower left arm.

Crimson charged his foe, driving his fist into the right shoulder with a bone crunching punch.

The wolf tried to run, but the armored warrior was quicker and snatched its tail to swing it around and smash it to the ground with another yelp.

A savage kick flipped it to its back as he pulled a silver and sperical device from a belt pouch and jammed it between the creatures jaws.

"How's that for a chew toy," Crimson commented as he used his booted foot to force the now flashing device farther down the beasts throat and walking away to grab their single prisoner while Dion dropped back down the hole and joined him on their way out.

The heavily injured Rastaban was left in the ruined garden as they met up with the other soldiers that had burned the village to the ground and were boarding the LAAT's.

"Mission complete," Harry stated calmly as the house detonated behind them, "Return to base."

* * *

Harry was watching as the tank drained slowly before him, revealing the slowly breathing form of the one he had selected from the genetic samples to be the first of his Imperial Knights. 

The tank opened slowly as the pressure valves released a puff of gas while the clasps holding the pale blue skin of the cloned dark jedi visible easily against the white of the back of the tank.

She collapsed to the ground, coughing as the force inhibiters within the tank deactivated last within the cloning cylinder.

Dark, damp hair draped down around her shoulders as glistening eyes the color of blood opened to the world for the first time. A look of confusion first flashed across her face before realization dawned on her.

Lord Dion motioned to Crimson who stepped forwards with a large case and placed it on the ground efore the newly reborn wielder of the force and opened it while stepping back to reveal a lightsaber and light armor fitted to a similar underdesign based off of the dark jedi robes.

She quickly dressed herself while remaining bowed before her master.

"Lady Tann," Harry stated calmly.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Rise for I have need of you," Dion stated coldly.

"I live but to serve," she responded, "What is thy bidding my master?"

* * *

The morning fog was deep and those who ere out and about would be incapable of understanding just what they were seeing, but they would fear the glimpses they did get of what came through Hogsmeade that morning. 

The dense fog combined with the wards that prevented the Hogwarts Express to actually enter the grounds of the wizarding school made them land just outside of the village and treck to the castle.

Two LAAT's had been used for the mission, the first a standard transport and the other the one modified to carry prisoners.

Sev'rance Tann led both squads of Clone Commandos with her on this mission for Lord Dion, one which she would use to prove her worth to her master.

The silver hilt of her lightsaber dangled at her hip while the red armor breastplate and shoulder guards along with the boots and bracers stood out against the black cloth of the robe as well as the cape that dangled to her heels.

The arrest of the leadership of the Order of the Phoenix was an essential step in the advancement of Lord Dions goals.

* * *

The impact of rolling off the bunk was what started it. 

Severus Snape felt the cold beneath him first as awareness slowly returned to him. All of his muscles throbbed almost as if they were asleep but not quite. His eyes fluttered open while he forced in a deep breath of cold air.

The place was unusual, he was on the floor in a room that seemed to be made entirely out of a dark metal of some sort that he guessed was steel, but couldn't really tell.

The only things he could make out was the few amenities including a bed, toilet, and sink. The dull light was enough to irritate him, but it was enough to clearly illuminate the room, and the position of the mirror would make the entire room visible from the grill on the door.

He could not see any marks where metal had been attached to metal making the entire room seem to be a single piece of formed metal with only the door being a seperate piece beyond things like the knob for the sink and the toilet.

Crawling slowly to his feet and sitting on the edge of the padded bed, the spy wondered just who the hell had attacked Voldemort.

A rapid attack and explosions everywhere, it was insane and it appeared a direct attack on Voldemort in a way that not even the ministry or the order had done during the first war.

The lights grew brighter and Snape reached for his wand on instinct only to find it gone.

The door seemed to vanish into a slot in the wall as a pair of white armored figures with blue kama and pauldrons as well as markings on the armor itself.

"Come with us," the one on the right stated calmly, the odd weapon carried by both pointing at the man.

The second grabbed him a moment later when he refused to move and dragged him to his feet to lead him down the darkened cooridors, the occasional glance into the other cells had him almost naming several of the inhabitants.

A third of the white armored soldiers joined the group, this ones markings in red as they left the cellblock, this one carrying two smaller but similar weapons.

His "escort" led him into a throne room lit by skylights above and a bank of windows that gave him the knoweldge of just where he was.

He was in Azkaban, how the hell did he get to Azkaban, and why had someone rebuilt the prison into a citadel of nightmares.

And more importantly, where the hell were the dementors...

"So the spy has learned just where I center my power," came a calm and deep voice that seemed far more terrifying than that of Voldemort himself.

The throne rotated slowly to face him, revealing a cowled figure sitting there amidst the storm that covered the island for the time being.

The hidden face turned to face the red armored soldier.

"Captain Hades," the voice stated, "You are dismissed, I can handle this one."

"Understood Lord Dion," came the response with a deep bow.

Hades voice was peculiarly like the voice of the blue one that had spoken earlier, the name also had what seemed almost like a rank which was unusual since only few of the ministry's groups actually used ranks.

As the three soldiers left, the ancient chamber the hidden eyes seemed to bore into him causing him to reflexively raise his occlumancy shields, but they did no good against the powerful probes that passed through them as if they weren't even there.

"Severus Snape," the cold voice of the one he now identified as Lord Dion, "You were a troublesome man to track down, but you are in my world now."

And the potions master gulped as he realized that he was wrong, he was walking headlong into hell rather than already being in it.

* * *

"Entryway secure," came the comment from Breaker commented, "Squad one in position." 

The second squad of commandos moved in along with the new Imperial Knight they were assigned to for their current mission.

Breaker was unsure just how he viewed this dark jedi, though he would obey unless she broke her alleigance to Lord Dion. The original had been an enemy of the Republic, a servant of the traitor, Count Dooku, and had killed several of his bretheren during the clone wars in that dimension.

"Strike Team Alpha is go," he stated as he watched the other team get into position before scanning the great hall while waiting for the final target to get into position while checking the positions of the commandos and Lady Tann.

"Beta is ready," came the response from Jag, the leader of the second squad.

Breaker glanced at the dark jedi and waited for her to signal the beginning of this stage of the plan.

A nod and the great hall errupted into violence with the dozen clonetroopers crashing into the room, blasters ready.

The blue flashes of stunbolts flooded the area of the head table as Sev'rance Tann walked in to view Albus Dumbledore in his position with a half-dozen blasters pointed at him.

"Albus Dumbledore," the Chiss force user stated calmly while holding out a piece of parchment, "You and all members of the so called Order of the Phoenix are hereby placed under arrest by the order of Cornelius Oswald Fudge, the current minister of magic with the charge of sedition and treason."

She paused with a cruel smirk before turning to the clones, "Take them away."

* * *

Harry was studying the database left by his master, with his first Knight chosen he would need to work on making more. 

Unlike the choice for his soldiers, he would make each of the knights unique. Each one chosen from a template of people who never existed in this world, but had in Palpatines world.

Sev'rance Tann had been selected because she was a brilliant military leader who could aid him in leading his soldiers into battle, but the rest would have their own specializations at the beginning.

That left him with many options and only a few that would fit into what he wanted for his knights. In the end he had three more chosen to join Tann among his new knights. Two chosen from the ranks of the various Hands that Sideous had trained, and the last made as a leader for his airborn soldiers.

His choices were Vess Kogo and Mara Jade, the choices of some of his former masters best. The last was Maarek Stele, one of the members of the Secret Order of the Emperor which was an impressive feat to have joined and proven worthy of.

Severus Snape was a goldmine of information just waiting to be taken and used in his current campaign and had already provided him with many things to consider that would soon be expanded upon.

Tann would be dispatched with Hades and the ARC troopers in his next plan.

The plan would involve the first fruits of his expiraments in Sith Alchemy upon the captured adult dragon that would soon need a true test of it's power in battle, and he saw great promise in this new breed of dragons and if sucessful would be a reason to attempt to make upgrades of other breeds as well.

Another plan was to attack and take Malfor Manor to find information stored there in the secret areas that he had overheard Draco mentioning years earlier, as well as provide him with a way to shatter one of Voldemorts sources of funds.

The coming battles would be harder now that he had revealed himself.

A slight grin crossed his lips as he glanced at the papers covering his last mission, the revelations about Dumbledore's capture combined with the suspicions he had planted in the ministers mind had coopted the media for the most part, but still the question had already been posed to the curious.

In the end, was he their friend or foe...


	2. Dawn Of Fate

The morning light was intense though dense fog engulfed the ground like a wraith hiding and concealing all but a few feet infront of a man.

Nearly a quarter mile into the air above the countryside was a craft rocketing towards its target.

"This is Tac-One," the pilot stated calmly, "Commencing awakening proceedures."

"Azkaban copies," came the response an instant later, "Mission is go."

"Roger."

The transport dove lower, skimming the treetops as a low snarl came from the sealed drop container it bore.

"Drop is go," he stated as they passed over a large structure, releasing the trap to plumet into the void before the LAAT rose swiftly to circle, the first part of their mission complete.

* * *

Awareness touched the sleepers mind and the depths of twilight within its mind began to fade slowly. 

It felt that its bindings were no longer in place as it reflexively tested its body.

A sharp and jarring impact fully roused the beast, and it lashed out tearing through the heavy metal of the container like aluminum foil.

It smelled the little prey that smelled almost like its master without the armor that it would mean injuring them would bring pain or the stench of ozone of it's lord.

These it could kill.

Flaring its wings and rising to its full height, it bellowed a challenge and lunged to attack the screaming and scattering pests.

The first Sith Dragon had been unleashed, and may the enemies of Dion tremble...

* * *

Diagon Alley's peace was shattered by the arrival of a Death Eater raid, the early morning traffic scattered. 

The Aurors responded as best they could, but the wards had locked down the alley to prevent quick escapes and thus also prevented arrivals leaving the red robed aurors hopelessly outnumbered by their foes.

It was then that the rescue came, but not from who they expected.

An LAAT came in low to almost touch down while the ARC's joined the fight with their master and his bodyguard.

Captain Hades landed first, leaping not for the street level but for the rooftops.

His twin blasters out and firing as he dashed headlong across the top of the shops. Alternating fire as he walked the blaster shots up and through a trio of Death Eaters to suprised by the attack to move.

Dion and Crimson joined four other ARC's as they disembarked with a several yard drop to the cobblestone streets, the lightsabers ignition drawing attention as he advanced before his men deflecting spells left and right.

Crimson's repeater flashed as he picked off targets as the gunship dusted off to add it's own cannons to the mix.

Aboard the LAAT, Dex took aim through the site of his own weapon.

The disruptor rifle was a marksmans dream as he took aim at one of the Death Eaters and fired. The energy blast disintigrating the targer as the weapon switched to its cooldown cycle before he switched back to charging.

He paused after his second shot and leaped to the rooftops to join Hades and take up a more stable firing position.

* * *

Sev'rance Tann grinned ferally as the Clone Troopers and the Clone Commando's attacked. The sirens song of blasterfire filling the air only punctuated by the blasts of grenades and the thunderous beat of the steps of the AT-PT's as the attack on Malfoy Manor began in earnest.

Two of her masters upgraded Dementors had already entered into the battle, eliciting screams of fear and terror that sent such pleasant tingles of cold up her spine.

The Chiss darksider charged into the fray, lightsaber activated to join in the carnage that would be hers to enjoy.

* * *

Walden Macnair was still resting up after the fiasco at the ministry. He had managed to escape enroute to Azkaban on his own and apparently just in time with Azkaban in the hands of another power. 

Now he was scared out of his mind as some psychotic variant of a dragon had apparently decided to attack.

The giants he had convinced to aid Voldemort in his conquest were present, but this thing had swallowed one of them whole while trashing the great hall of the ancient Slytherin Castle.

Macnair was used to dealing with monsters, he was the executioner of any beast deemed dangerous by the ministry, and had faced many dragons in his day.

Even that couldn't prepare him for this leviathan as its claws wrent stone as it lashed out, tail ripping through the stone walls as if they were but paper.

Spells were being absorbed into the creature that seemed made of naught but shadow and death, although protrusions along its spine seemed to begin to take on light as spells pounded the abomination.

Rolling away from a lunge that shattered a wall, sending a veritable avalanch of masonry down upon some of his allies and began the collapse of the roof while the mouth came at him again full of teeth longer than his leg and wickedly sharp.

He managed to force himself to fire a blasting hex down the monstrocities throat before diving for cover amidst the rubble while the scaled dreadnaught passed overhead, leaving a cloud of ash and dust in its wake.

A terrifying shriek drew his attention as he saw the Giant Chief and nearly a dozen of the largest and strongest giants charge at the monster before it was apon them.

The hardened death eater closed his eyes as he was narrowly missed by the top half of the chief as the razor sharp blade on the creatures tail sliced it cleanly apart from waist to shoulder.

The ancient wards against transport spells made retreat impossible and thus he screamed his own challenge with an Avada Kedavra, rallying the remainder of the Death Eaters and it turned, the light now impossibly bright on its back as it's mouth opened in a deafening roar.

"My god," one of the new recruits stammered before the light enhulfed them whole and the castle exploded in the release of stored power while the sith dragon roared in victory.

* * *

Harry's advance changed as he reached his foes, weapon and sith moving almost as a dance amidst the screams of the damned foes who dared attack a master of the dark side. 

Then the field alley went quiet while the leader of the death eater raid began to laugh.

Turning slowly, Lord Dion saw the reason.

His enemy had deigned to enter the field of battle at last.

Finishing his last current opponent he stepped towards Voldemort, a brief flash of hope for ending this here and now.

Nodding to Crimson who responded in kind.

"I'll handle this one myself," Darth Dion stated calmly to his companion.

"Understood sir," the guardsman responded, "No interferance."

The red armored warrior changed targets, "ARC Troopers finish the mission, the lead hostile will be dealt with by our Lord himself."

* * *

Draco Malfoy watched from his room above the center of his family manor. 

He stood wide eyed as his fathers allies fell back from the assault by an enemy he had heard vague and terrified whispers of in the past month.

The harsh smoke rising in a dense cloud from the burning gardens left him dry eyed while his mother frantically baricaded the door.

One of the birdlike metal things seemed to turn and stare at him for a moment midstride before continuing towards his home firing off whatever the spell that left an explosion on its target.

With his father imprisoned in Azkaban, his family fortune in the hands of Voldemort, and now his home in ruins, we wondered what was next.

All that seemed left was for him to watch his life and family burn.

A small part of him wondered what would be left with everything burnt away.

* * *

"Cover me," Sev'rance ordered as she reached the main doors, the magically enhansed barrier was resisting direct attempts to blast through. 

"Roger," Breaker responded as he signaled his squad of commando's to take up position to cover the Imperial Knight as she slowly forced the lightsaber to carve through the entryway.

A signal from a comming LAAT made him grin.

"Lady Tann," he stated, "Stand back and take cover, we have another way in."

"What?" she yelled as she sensed it through the force.

"An AT-AP has been delivered to the battlefield," the commando responded, "It should be able to breach the entrance."

The chiss nodded and joined the commando squad under cover before the massive explosion caused by the mass-driver canon destroyed the wall she had been attempting to carve through.

"Alpha squad," Breaker continued, "Move, take the entrance."

Sev'rance Tann was already in motion, using the debris to form a momentary tornado within to root out survivors only to let it dissipate when Beta squad joined up to add more fire to the mix.

"Have you found the targets?" Jag asked the darksider as he and Breaker took up flanking positions.

"Upstairs," she answered, "Three floors."

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Beta Squad," she ordered, "Take and hold the Drawing-Room, Dion said there was something hidden there of value."

"Roger," Jag stated as he signaled his team to follow him as the group split up to complete their missions.

* * *

Blasting a pair of death eaters aside with the force, Harry charged his foe with a roar of anger. 

Drawing the blade he had inherited from his ancestor, the Blade of Slytherin met the lightsaber with a shriek and a spray of amber sparks.

Dion's eyes widened behind his mask as he realized something else about the sword of the snake lord. It was an alchemic blade fashioned by the same beings as had forged Azkaban, the weapon was the equal of a Sith Sword.

The ancient relic and the lightsaber crashed again as the two dark lords clashed with thunderous roar while the fighting seemed to stop to watched the dual of the titans.

Neither spoke as they added their other abilities to the mix.

Avoiding a killing curse, Dion drew on the force and ripped hundreds of paving stones from the street and leaped back to send them all in a wave at his enemy.

Conjuring a wall of solid stone and forming several serpents of stone to quickly animate, Voldemort charged through the dust cloud kicked up by his walls destruction due to the stone barrage. His animated snakes attacked Harry from the sides only to be shattered with another burst from the force as the sith lord went vertical in a high spinning leap.

Blades crossed again as the magic and darkside plowed head first into one another sending a shockwave throught he alley that toppled people and shattered glass.

They broke apart both leaping to opposite sides of the alley and circled slowly blades ready.

Harry flourished and changed stances, and then in a flash both went back on the offensive once more.

A flurry of strikes by the sith lord hammered the dark wizard who managed to stave them off, but his age and lack of physical training quickly came into play. Riddle staggered back when they broke apart once more.

As Harry charged again, Voldemort brought his wand up and fired another curse.

The blood red blade met the saphire curse in a spectacular explosion as both pushed at the other for a moment before the charge slowed to a crawl. Pushing slowly through the curse, the wand of the Voldemort exploded in a fireball on contact as the spell itself shattered and threw both combatants apart to slam into the opposing walls.

"Until next time," came a familiar and high pitched voice that he recognized as Bellatrix stated right before a portkey removed the surviving Death Eaters from the battle.

Harry blinked twice and shook his head to clear it as he staggered to his feet and clipped his lightsaber back to his belt.

Panting slowly as the exhaustion reached him while Crimson aproached and caught him.

"Sir," the dependable soldier stated as he supported his lord., "Transport inbound, mission complete."

* * *

The LAAT's returned to Azkaban in the late afternoon, having spent the morning involved in two of three major conflicts scattered around the country. 

Lord Dion was meditating upon his obsidian throne, mind probing the void in search of answers while watching the waves and the castle through the windows.

Everything was falling into place as his plans advanced, each missions completion moving things just one more step towards completion.

Domination of this breed of weak minded fools was pathetically easy with few real challenges, and he had known that his only real threat came from the enemy that had marked him.

Sev'rance's forces were still involved in a battle over Malfoy Manor that had devolved into an almost free for all when Death Eater reinforcements had set off a nearby gas main by either accident or sheer luck.

The three knights in the tanks were proceeding well and the "rescuee's" would soon be ready for a more "gentle" type of questioning than the other Death Eaters.

The attack on Diagon was something that would cement his power and allow him to complete the maneuvers needed to seize his first throne and take control of wizarding Britain.

A smirk crossed his lips as a moments thought about Severus Snape, a man with no alleigance save to himself, was faring after being released from his custody.

* * *

Severus staggered through town, pausing only to lean against a wall in Hogsmeade. 

The mark was gone, but so was the arm it was attached to with his captors taking the easy route to fill out their bargain.

He knew that the promise to remove it if he answered their questions honestly was to good to be true, but he had been desperate.

Now he wished he hadn't taken him up on the offer and needed a new wand.

But he was free.

Free of Voldemort...

Free of Dumbledore...

Free of Hogwarts...

Free of Potter...

And yet he was now alone, and wondered just what the world had planned to pull on him next.

* * *

The return fire paused causing the clone troopers to redouble their efforts as the AT-PT's and AT-AP moved into positions to pulverize more of the manor while preventing direct damage to the areas they wanted intact. 

Inside the Clone Commandos of Beta Squad charged into the room, taking cover from the furniture as they exchanged blaster fire with spells with the retreating enemies as the black cloaked wizards retreated down a trapdoor in the floor.

"Move," Jag ordered, "We can't let them escape."

"Understood," Trident responded as he rolled into position laying flat on the floor while aiming into the stone stairway that led into the deep and opened fire into the void on full auto.

Screams errupted from the whole as a stun grenade was dropped down as well, the clones following as soon as the weapon detonated.

"Stay alert," Jag warned as he entered the hidden maze beneath the manor, "Trident and Grin remain and cover the exit, Jace and Mik you take the left, Janus is with me."

A quick affirmative confirmed the plan as the team broke to hunt their prey through the tunnels.

* * *

The last of the LAAT rose from the grounds of Malfoy manor, the engine wash a calm hum compared to the mad cackle of the burning structure. 

Crimson eyes surveyed the site of the battle as they circled slowly overhead.

She wanted the two prisoners to see what would happen next as she rose the detonator and removed the safety.

"And but one more step towards victory," she whispered slowly, voice carried softly on the breeze before she pressed the trigger and the ancient manor and its environs burned like the sun against the twilight.

* * *

Voldemort was brooding as he stared at the ruins of his wand and the damage to his hand that still smoldered from the remnants of the phoenix feather. 

"How," he whispered slowly to almost to himself as he rose to his feet.

His servants eyes turned to face him.

"How?" he asked.

"How?" again he asked, louder this time.

"How did this happen!" he demanded of his followers, "Can any of you tell me how or why we lost that fight!"

But in his heart he knew why, that being radiated power at a rate that made those sensitive to it unable to feel any other. And that power was dark, a blood soaked shadow that sought to consume the world in its all consuming rage.

Voldemort swore to himself that he would either win or die trying. And even more he swore one more thing.

He would be remembered for he would not quietly let this upstart win.

* * *

Crimson smiled at the girl as she sat beside him. 

It felt strange to have a chile that trusted him as she did, much less one who had seen so much.

And yet, he felt comforted by that.

Humming softly one of the mandalorian battle hymns that had been taught to the ARC's on Kamino before that training and programming had been added to the clone flash training that came later, he wondered if his progenitor, the bounty hunter Jango Fett, had felt the same about the one clone he had kept for himself.

She smiled at him and his heart broke as he wondered if she smiled like that for her family.

He had convinced Lord Dion to try to find her name in her head, or at least help find out what had happened to hurt her enough to make her refuse to speak.

In the end the answers were just as bad as they had thought, the sithspawn had tortured her until she had forgotten, her early life either erased or sealed behind pain that she never should have endured.

He named her then, following the information on the people the clone template had come from.

Ge'tal Runi, a name with a meaning. She was the Red Soul and part of the reason he saw the truth in the extermination of the Death Eaters.

If his genetic brother could make an entire galaxy fear him as a bounty hunter while following the path of their template, then he would at least follow his example enough to make these child killers fear his own actions.

* * *

The meeting chamber was quiet as the eyes of the entire Wizengamot turned to face the masked and caped Lord Dion of Azkaban when he rose to speak. 

The recent events had crystalized the hopes now stored in the decisive action the Lord of Azkaban was taking against the menace of Lord Voldemort.

They had welcomed him with open arms into their ranks before this meeting to help deciding how to ensure a swift victory with the use of the rest of the Wizarding World.

"Friends," he stated calmly, "A great tragity has us gathered here, one that should have been prevented."

His eyes passed over the crowd, each thinking he was staring at them through his mask.

"I had believed that with the removal of the influence of the power hungry goals of Albus Dumbledore," he paused for a moment, letting the contempt in his voice at the name of the old man, "That the magical leadership of this nation would act to protect its own people from a marauding monster."

Again his eyes crossed the room, locking for a moment on the now pale white Cornelius Fudge.

"But that has not happened, the lack of protection by the ministry forces allowed many to die before my own soldiers could react," he let his words sink in for an instant, "And such, with great thought and contemplation, I am forced to call for a no confidence vote to replace the Minister with someone capable of doing what is necessary to ensure the future of our children and our childrens children!"

He slammed his gauntleted fist into the railing before his seat, the loud thump resounding through the silent chamber.

"What say you all!"

A thunderous roar was the response he got from the gathered people.

* * *

Sybill Trelawney froze while about to take a sip of tea and her eyes glazed over. 

_The lords of darkness have clashed,  
Enemies declared by fate and choice.  
Marked by the other,  
Each has been left scarred.  
A snake, a phoenix, and a dragon,  
The three gather to war._

* * *

**Review Responses**  
**Sybelle Annya:** Thanks  
**john:** Here  
**ApocSM:** Gracias  
**crimson-apf:** Thanks, I like writing Crimson because he has a unique worldview that I'm gonna keep expanding. 


	3. Setting The Board

Draco laughed madly as he watched the dawn, it had been nearly a month since he had felt the light of day upon his face. A month trapped in a hellhole run by lunatics and monsters.

He had spotted a crack in the security and had taken his chances to escape from the new prison that had been built on the grounds of his former home. While it had seemed far below his station, he had used the sewers to escape and had headed for one of the nearby cache's of items his father had insisted would be a useful precaution for a rainy day.

Frantically he dug through the muck of the lake shore until he found the hidden box that contained a temporary wand and some coin for use as well as a few other things that would be essential.

A low hum warned him of the patrols and dashed for cover outside the property lines, then the distinct pop of apparition and he was gone.

* * *

Sev'rance Tann smiled as she watched the wizard vanish. 

"Run, run, run little rat," she sang softly, "Show us just where your little bolt hole is."

"M'lady," Jag stated from his position beside her, "The transmitter is in perfect working order, the mission is a success."

"Excellent," the chiss almost purred, "Inform Lord Kogo of the location, I believe that this plan of our masters will be such a delightful play to enjoy."

Her crimson eyes turned towards the clone, "Don't you agree?"

* * *

Breaker fell back with the two remaining members of his squad. 

Their numbers had been cut in half in moments by something unexpected.

Voldemort had apparently gotten outside help, help that could not be human.

"Stay sharp," he ordered while surveying the area for the silver armored monster that had eviscerated one of his team before smashing another with a support beam while the last death was from the roof collapsing on him.

A scream from behind had both him and Taunt spin to see the body of another ally fall to the ground dead.

"It's above us!" Breaker yelled as he opened fire into the roof, catching but a glimpse of their hunter.

"Sir," Taunt stated calmly, "I suggest we fall back, we should be able to take it in the open."

"Agreed," the other responded a moment later before they dashed for it.

Heavy footsteps followed them and it seemed almost like the creature was panting heavily before leaping back when Taunt dropped a grenade before both Clone Commandos crashed through a window and into the light of day.

Rolling to a stop in the grass as the structure shook behind them, weapons pointed at the smouldering window.

Finely tuned instincts alerted them as the shadows beagn to swirl around the building.

"Run!" the leader of the devistated squad ordered as they ran for their lives.

The being was tall, for a human anyway, and thin almost skeletal in appearance but of the flesh only the eyes were visible through the eyeslits of the mask and they had a shine like fire that pierced the seemingly alive shadows that gathered around the silver armor over white cloth.

Clawed hands brushed the ground as it ran with a loping gate that was almost closer to a gorilla than a man, and the panting was feral as well. Below the mask sat two nearly foot long blades positioned to look like fangs. A cape that seemed of liquid saphire swirled around it while it charged.

Taunt tripped, tumbling once before rotating to his back while bringing his blaster up to fire.

"Damn it," Breaker growled before he spun as well to fire.

Blasterfire didn't even slow the hunter down.

Closing his eyes to block the sight of the inevitable while hoping to manage to hit a gap in the armor.

A loud roar and a shockwave blew the squad leader off his feet followed by what sounded like an almost bird like shriek.

Eyes snapping back open barely in time to tackle the other survivor out of the mudspray from the Saber tank as it skidded to a halt while using one of the pontoons to send the monster, still smouldering from laser canon fire.

"Jade," the pilot yelled, "Do your thing!"

"Understood," the red head responded, using the force to launch herself skywards, ruby bladed lightsaber igniting midflight as the enemy recovered and attacked the new threat.

The pilot removed his helmet before speaking, "Lieutenant' Breaker, report."

"Of course Lord Stele," the Clone responded while the monster fell back from the other Imperial Knight.

* * *

Vess Kogo wandered the alleys. 

His personal preference for blending into the crowd when possible had come into play when he left his armor behind, enjoying the ease of blending in the Sith Robes had with the crowds of wizards.

While the Jade was decent at infiltrations as well as just about everything, she had a strange tenancy to be rather flashy and noticeable, and Stele would rather be driving or piloting than wandering. Stele and Tann's preoccupation with straight up combat were part of why the job was left to him.

He was the one who blended into the crowd when it was beneficial while capable of defending himself.

His master had made this his usual task, to remain on the lookout at Diagon Alley to aid the troopers stationed there on the off chance that Voldemort or some other opportunistic psycho decided to attempt a raid.

The few members of Aurors that had managed to see the identical appearance of the Clone Troopers were more than a little disturbed by what they had seen, but had still worked with them when required to do so.

A part of Kogo wondered if there was anyway he could amplify his abilities with magic as like the other Knights, he had barely enough magical power to do anything and that left the four as just above squib status save for their force powers.

The use of a lightsaber as a wand had sparked an almost frantic search by several of the wizards to replicate the spell they believed had made the blade. Stele had compounded the issue by enjoying some of the other choices that magic allowed and preferred to use a spell that created a flame whip on occasion instead of or along with the blade.

However, the downside of the use of a lightsaber was that it made casting in a fight difficult when using the blade due to the necessity of certain wand movements for the more difficult spells. While, the disadvantage was countered by the ability to deflect spells away, it was something to consider, and Vess was considering adding a wand to his own equipment along with the heavy blaster pistol he already carried.

Taking a quick turn and slipping into Knockturn Alley, Vess grinned slightly as he began searching for someone he could get information out of.

The mind probe quickly located someone, the gentle touch of the force bypassed the mental defenses of the wizards using defenses against their own mental attacks.

His choice was someone he had been told about, stepping into the shop he grinned maniacally while stepping up to the man in question.

"Hello Borgin," Vess said slowly as he prepared to deal with the man.

He reacted without thinking, the power of the force flowing through him as the shop exploded in emerald flame.

Vess rotated to pass feet first through the display window in the front of the shop while using the force of the magical traps explosion to increase his speed.His hands slipped the mask that concealed his lower face as he kicked off the wall on the far side of the street, eyes closed while listening to the shattering of more glass.

Rolling back to his feet as the formerly crowded streets seemed to flood with the familiar forms of the Death Eater "Uniform" wearing wizards.

Instinctively he drew his blaster and fired while unleashing a blast of telekinetic power to send a dozen of the black robed individuals tumbling down the cobblestone pavement. The shrieks of suprise filled Knockturn before turning to terror when he snatched another and focused to use the wizard as a makeshift wrecking ball before smashing the man through a brick wall and collapsing the wrecked potions shop down on top of that one.

Slowly he brushed past the indignation at how these utter fools had dared to attack one of Lord Dion's Knights and the contempt at their actions, his mind centered on the utter rage hidden and trapped within his psyche and brought it out from the wellspring of destruction he held within.

Power surged from him in a shock wave made visible by the debris cloud it kicked up as he holstered the blaster pistol.

A long silver handle seemed to appear in his hand, a motion and a soft click as it split into two parts. The first was that of a smaller lightsaber known as a Shoto and the second was simply an attachment with a long metal chord that attached to the bottom of the Shoto with a winch to easily retract and reconnect the two portions of the weapon.

He leaped to the side, landing atop one of the few intact structural supports of the collapsed building as he activated the short ruby blade and spun it twice in a figure eight on its chord.

The Death Eaters had recovered enough to come at him in semi-circular positions in the hope to hit him with at least one curse.

"Let's do this," Vess Kogo stated calmly as he unleashed a wave of force energy to shred the street like tissue paper through a lawnmower.

The lightsaber shot forwards before being spun in a tight vertical loop as Kogo leaped, twisting like a top. The humming blade leaving glistening trails in the stone street where it's tip brushed the pavement, the weapon slicing clean through the midline of one of the death eaters before it's flight was ended by a pull by the force that dragged it back to Vess' hand while wrapping the chain around the throat of another.

The sharp crack of a snapped neck resounded as the bladeless end coiled under the direction of the force before unwrapping from the falling corpse.

The Imperial Knight lashed out with another wave of power into another one of the dark wizards, smashing the target through a wall before pitching the bladed section of his chain-lightsaber to impale yet another before pulling it back with a sharp yank on the other end.

His tactics changed, adding the magical element into his plans and apparated into the crowd as he felt the wards on Knockturn collapse.

The crack of his appearance startled his enemies and gave him the time to strike and vanish once more.

Each point of appearance was guided by the Force, allowing him to pick the best positions from which to strike with the whirling chain and energy blade of death that he wielded. It was a devilish mix that brought chaos to his enemies as they tried in vain to target him with whatever spells they could think of and several fell victim to friendly fire amidst the maelstrom of magical attacks.

The attacks based on the powers of life itself only added to the confusion.

Then they noticed that he had stopped reappearing and seemed to relax, and it was in that moment that reinforcements arrived in the form of four squads of Clone Troopers from Diagon Alley and a deployment of six ARC Troopers in combination with the reactivation of the Wards.

As they rose their wands to face the armored soldiers, Vess Kogo stepped from his hiding place behind them and raised an arm, blue lightning jumping slowly from fingertip to fingertip.

And then he unleashed the force lightning to jump from target to target, ripping into the rear of the enemies that had survived his earlier attacks.

The mass of Death Eaters fell in moments from the attack while Knocturn, known as a haven for the most vile of the wizarding arts for centuries, burned.

* * *

He was dreaming, Voldemort knew he had to be for there was no other reasonable explanation for what he saw. 

The Heir of Slytherin stood upon a sea of glass and steel, a city that stretched seemingly to infinity in all directions. The sky gave way from clouds to a vast void full of countless stars.

"For countless millennia the guardians of the lie of peace feared my kind as did that which they protected," a mysterious and sinister voice whispered in his ear, causing the one who believed himself to be a dark lord.

"What?" the snake lord stammered as he glanced back and forth frantically, "Who's there?"

"I am here," the voice whispered from everywhere and yet no where before seeming to focus from the sky while the stars themselves seemed to rearrange themselves into the shape of a cowled face, "You who trespass in the minds of others should have known that there were far worse protections to the mind than what you passed through."

"Who are you?"

"Me?" the voice responded before erupting into maddening laughter, "I am the Dark Lord of the Sith."

Lightning seemed to crash nearby and the intense stench of ozone burned at his nostrils for but a moment.

"Now then," the voice continued almost in a hiss, "I've decided to let you off after letting you observe a little story, one that shows just how foolish your vaunted belief in prophecy is."

The scenery changed and smoke and brimstone filled the air, molten lava flowing all around as he stood atop a walkway watching two figures fight with glowing energy blade, one frozen blue and the other flaming red.

"The one with the red lightsaber was known as the 'Chosen One,' supposedly given life by the very thing that empowers the gifts of my kind," the voice continued, "The prophecy spoke of one being born to balance the force, but while everyone viewed this as a being who would extinguish the dark and let in the light..."

Voldemort tried to watch as that figure changed into a black monstrosity of machine and man, slaughtering others with similar blades before slaying even the black cowled figure who had commanded him.

"The Chosen One slew both sides and brought balance in a very different way," came the continued speech in an almost contemptuous tone, "He brought balance by destroying both."

Voldemort paused for a moment before talking as he watched thousands of soldiers taking to the field of battle, craft so massive they were larger than the Roc of legend.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why?" the voice laughed, "Why not, it gives you a small hint of just what you are up against in the end you little, insignificant man."

And then he saw it, a moon in the sky and a bright flash as he watched one of the planets explode.

The blast raced towards him.

"I believe it is past time I said farewell," the voice said, stars winking out one by one as the wave came closer and closer.

The heat was intense, he felt like his insides were boiling and his flesh cooking and when it got to the point he thought he would die just from the heat, he snapped awake and sitting in his bed.

* * *

Elsewhere, Lord Dion sat in his throne, eyes slowly opening, but a cruel smirk on his lips. 

"Crimson," he ordered, "Bring Breaker and Taunt to me for reassignment."

"Yes Lord Dion," the guardsman responded.

* * *

The silver armored being sat in the dark, breathing slowly and eyes closed. The harsh panting of his breath filling the otherwise silent room. 

"So the heir of the one I am in debt to sends his rabid dog to discuss things with me," he stated coldly as the sapphire eyes opened and locked upon hers.

"Your less than stunning attempts at stealth not withstanding," he stated slowly while rising to his feet, the claws of his armor scraping the stone as he moved, "What has the snake king sent you for?"

And then he moved, seeming to vanish into the shadows to reappear right behind her.

"Or are you here for another reason," the entity seemed to purr into her ear, "Something more personal perhaps?"

"That's enough Centurion," she stated, a flash of anger coursing through Bellatrix's face, "The Dark Lord wishes to have a full report on what happened."

"Remember slave of the snake," the being responded, "I have walked this earth since before the one that he is heir of was but a twinkle in his parents eye, I came to the reborn ones aid only because I was friend and ally of Salazar and gave him sanctuary when the gryphon drove him from that which he aided in building."

The being reached up and removed the mask, lowering the ghoulish steel from a face marred only by a single scar, but bore the marks of time and experience.

The scar was ancient, barely visible on the flesh save for the difference in shades coming from his glowing eyes.

Pale skin, nearly to the point where one would consider him an albino, but still dark enough to prove that he was not. The features were aristocratic to an extent, more tied to the mediterranean features than the european ones.

Vibrant crimson lips stood out along with the framing of golden hair, the lips only marred by the appearance of razor sharp fangs.

"Do not presume to order one who fought with emperors and kings since before this very nation first came into being," he continued with a flash of anger, "So do not presume that I would simply obey a mortal wizard who has refused the gifts I could have given before his first death."

"Presume!" she retorted, "Vampire, you do not match the power of the Dark Lord."

"Your Dark Lord is clinging desperately to a crumbing dream of an empire," the blood drinker responded, "I know what it is like, and that is why I came to help."

He walked across the room slowly, the cape swirling slowly, "This enemy that he has awakened is familiar to me in a way, a remnant of things that even the hero of you wizards only came to a stalemate with, both Atlantis and their own world in ruins."

Turning to face her once more, seeing the paling features, "And you wizards have only degraded since the loss of the place you first learned of magic from, while those you fight seem to have remained as strong as ever if not stronger."

Clawed fingertips of the gauntlets brushed the scorch marks on his armor, "And they have evolved from the legends and survivors I have met in my youth."

He paused again, "You mortals have a saying about Nero, that he played his fiddle while Rome burned."

"In the end, while that lunatic got the blame," the one time centurion continued after a deep breath, "It was in fact the work of the last member of that empire, my forces managed to win a victory there after thousands others died when the mad emperor disturbed one of their relics he had found."

Turning away and returning to his seat, "So do not speak to me of what I must or must not do, and do not disturb me without due reason again."

"As you wish Centurion Tartarus," she answered in a quivering tone that seemed far out of character for the lady who had once been filled with the madness of the dementors.

* * *

Bringing his personal craft in for a landing, Imperial Knight Maarek Stele pondered his new orders. 

He was being assigned to lead a mission to capture a being that was responsible for dozens if not hundreds of deaths and was seemingly immortal, or at least insanely long lived.

The first records of the target were from Egypt, and he had a habit of building a cult then causing a mass suicide event before going underground and waiting a decade before starting all over again.

He had been spotted in America, this had led to an agreement by the American Magical Enforcement Teams to allow capture and extradition by a group sent, he had been placed in command of the force sent to capture him with one of the Aurors being sent as an aide while the Americans would supply a few of their own to aid in the mission.

Lord Dion had already sent an infiltrator via less noticeable means, though he had little information on just who or what was sent.

At least he was no longer consigned to just the ground forces in any case, they were useful but not what he was his best at. The skies called to him, and he could answer now.

Lord Dion had given him a craft that was the top of the line in air and space combat, a Nova Wing or as it was better known as, the Missile Boat. His subordinates, however, were given the easier to produce Torrent fighters for the time being, the first squadron based off of a different base genetic line than the Clone Troopers, namely that of one of the elite pilots of the Empire.

The fact that the template was of one of the men his own template had served under was somewhat amusing to him in an almost morbid way, but he could not disagree with the choice. The man was the third best pilot in the Empire himself and Vader were the only ones better, and he did not have the aid of the force in his own abilities and had been considered for the title of Tan at one point, but that was the end of his own knowledge there.

In the end, the template was from Baron Soontir Fel.

This had also given him the excuse to expand the crimson stripes from his own craft to the elite squadron that was being formed from the first pilots.

And with the first CR-25 being assigned for his mission, he would be able to prove his competency as a general for his master.

* * *

Breaker sighed as he leaned back in the chair. One of his squad had survived the encounter with the new enemy that they had believed dead. 

Canderous, the clone commando squads demolitions expert, had survived the collapse of a section of the stone building. In the end, the clone had some serious injuries and was restricted to the bacta tank for three days.

Alpha squad was being reassigned, changing from a Commando team to Aerial Troopers. Apparently their decimation had been the deciding factor, fewer people needing additional training before deployment.

Dion had them turn in their Katarn armor for the Hawkbat armor constructed for Aerial Trooper operations. The new armor carried several of the special devices present in the Katarn that was standard for Commandos while adding the jetpack and retractable wings to give the aerial troopers the gift of flight in combat.

Taunt was out watching Lord Dion's latest venture, Project: Venator, as work happened on the large platforms extending from the island. His subordinate had the attitude of a pilot, and with their Lords statement that he would lead humanity to the stars and rule all that he surveyed.

The three, massive starships under construction were impressive to say the least, but neither the Venator-class Star Destroyer nor the pair of Acclamator II-class Assault Ships were even half way to completion.

He wasn't surprised that Commander Hades with his new yellow markings was the planned fleet commander while another ARC would once more take command of ARC squad Alpha. His opinion of the ARC teams was that their seemingly constant change of command was detrimental to their image, but they had yet to have heavy casualties and only two of their number had been killed since Dion had made the first, both in a situation where they required captives while the enemy had been in action earlier than they were supposed to be.

Now he just had to make it through the next two days and his own squad would be restored to full strength with their new assignment. They would also be the elite team sent with Lord Kogo on his mission.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was hopeful to say the least as he was escorted from the cell. 

It was Azkaban in which he was imprisoned, but not the one he had stepped into before. The dank, dark fortress seemed different, almost malignantly alive while the hewn stone was replaced with metal fixtures that terrified him.

Whoever this Lord Dion was, he had apparently taken many cues from the muggle world and twisted them into a terrifying image to any wizard who entered the fortress.

He had been informed soon after he had arrived that most of the prisoners were no longer being held within the fortress, only those who were considered the most dangerous. That had included him and Alastor from the Order apparently, and he only knew that Moody was there when he was led by few cells on his way out of the detention level and into the odd, circular elevator.

Albus had been informed of the construction of Hades Prison upon the grounds that had been the ancestral home of the, now renegade, Malfoy family. The place would hold the weaker wizards with little actual value the imprisoned leader of the Order of the Phoenix mused.

He had grimaced at the shackles that were firmly in place around his wrists, the inner layer, the former headmaster now knew, was lined with cold iron and prevented the wearer from utilizing magic outside the body.

The lift passed to a glass lined section, revealing the massive construction surrounding the island as well as the reinforced pits with immense dragons of a type the old man could not recognize.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the old wizard noticed his two escorts tense, the weapons that looked so much like the muggle rifles all but trained on him as they exited the elevator and into a throne room.

The armored figure clad from head to toe in vibrant, ruby red armor and a cloak motioned for him to enter the room and to watch the events as the black clothed form that he was told was Dion stood.

"Before we speak," the man spoke, the calm and yet commanding voice of one used to command, "I wish to show you something that will give you some insight into what I wish you to know."

"Shall we begin, Sire?" Crimson asked calmly from his position, the knowledge of his masters plans making him excited about watching Lord Dion crush the hopes of one of his betrayers.

"Yes," came the response before the masked man turned his hooded head to face the elder wizard, "One of my prisoners, a Lucius Malfoy, believes that he has escaped my prison."

Motioning to the window overlooking the courtyard, the construction facilities, and the ocean, "He should be 'pleasantly' surprised at the treat I have in store for my latest creation."

Dumbledore heard the sarcasm and disdain in that one word.

"Watch," Dion ordered as the blond man rushed through the empty courtyard and then out of sight for an instant in another corridor.

The death eater tumbled back into sight, the motion was easily seen as the man having run into something as the video monitor below that showed a closer view moved to show the corridor itself.

Two glistening points of light were visible in the shadows that moved closer, revealing a humanoid figure.

The head of the Malfoy family screamed and his eyes opened wide as the rust red figure came into clear view.

A comment came over the speakers, "Bemused Query: Meatbag, did you truly believe my master would simply let you off his island?"

And then the sound of a single blaster bolt ended the horrified screams.

* * *

**Review Responses**  
**Olaf74:** Thanks you, I've been posting this on TFF as I work on it so you can read it there as I go.  
**MiFo71:** Crimson is one of the characters I have things planned for later on, he is the ultimate soldier that you could mess with and has a loyalty streak that would scare a Hufflepuff. Tann is based off the character from Galactic Battlegrounds and one of the few force users who would make an adept general for a Sith Lord, she had very little information on her in the game beyond the basics, but she had to be a potent fighter and a capable general to need someone like Grievous as a replacement. And Fudge getting dealt with publicly was one of my favorite parts of the original version of the story, I had to keep it or it wouldn't be much of a rewrite.  
**coverd in blood'n gore:** Yep, I'm trying to expand the views of this beyond the main characters, as it continues there will be more added into the mix to make the story complete. As for Ge'tal, the plans for her aren't quite what you're thinking at the moment.  
**theman:** While he is their master, his plans do not really involve using them in that way. Tann would be a big mess if he tried, and for Mara that would be a bit to twisted for other reasons such as her looking way to much like Lilly and he really doesn't need those thoughts (Nor do I). He will eventually have someone in this, but not for a while.  
**Saetan:** Here is the 3rd part of this story. 


	4. Prelude Of The Future

Dumbledore's face paled, almost matching his beard as the masked man in black returned to his seat upon the throne in the center of the large chamber.

"Why?" the aged wizard managed to ask the Lord of Azkaban.

"Quite simple really," the response came coldly from Dion, "Lucius has long since become expendable, no more useful information within that empty, blond head of his."

The face turned towards the old man, "And this way I eliminate the waste while testing my latest masterpiece and prove a point at the same time."

A brief moment of musing before the sith continued, "And in the end, that inbred imbeciles death was more valuable than his life was."

"He was a human being," the other stated, "Lives matter!"

"Ah, Albus," came the retort, "But while he was human, his life was forfeit anyway, anyone who takes the mark has given up their so called right to life and freedom."

A brief chuckle came from behind the mask, "When I was elected the new minister after that idiot you had as a puppet was removed, all of Voldemort's followers are relegated to enemies of the state for kill or capture."

"That is inhumane!"

"No, that is reality," came the answer, "Did you expect that chucking all of them in prison until they either escaped or bribed their own way out would work at stopping the lunatic of a 'dark lord' you have running amok?"

The old wizard could feel the eyes burning into his.

"Did you?" the Sith Lord demanded of his prisoner, "Did you honestly think that these terrorists deserved to live when they have killed, tortured, maimed, and raped hundreds if not thousands of humans."

Silence was the only response the bearded man could give beyond the visible shame appearing upon his face.

"No, Dumbledore," the force user continued, "They sacrificed their humanity long ago in the sake of prejudice and bigotry that has no place in this world, and the innocent pay the cost for wizarding incompetence."

"The magical ignore the mundane and in so doing cement their hatred," he continued, the tone leaving the listener weary, "But their hatred makes them monsters."

Eyes locked once more.

"And monsters have no place in society, they are to be stamped out and their arrogance will destroy them," Dion continued, "And monsters, like vermin, flee from the light of the powerful."

A brief pause, "And my soldiers and lightsaber are what is making them run and hide while revealing just what they are."

Albus Dumbledore in all of his years had never contemplated this scenario, imprisoned after being stripped of rank and title by the very people he had tried to protect.

"Then why take over?" he asked, this being had taken control of the wizarding world with ease in a masterstroke that came from the shadows in a twist of fate that could never be predicted.

"Why?" came the response, "Because it is my right to rule, and once I rule this world, I will lead humanity to the stars to conquer in my name."

"You're a madman," came the horrified response.

"Mad am I?" Dion responded slowly, savoring the trap he had set for the old man, "This madness that you believe I have comes from your own actions."

Dumbledore froze, his mind wondering just who was behind this mask. Who had been brought to this point and blamed him for it.

"Who are you?" he asked with desperation appearing in his voice and on his weathered face.

Dion reached up slowly and undid the clasps of his mask and removed it from his pale ace.

The emerald eyes and lightning bolt scar were enough to make the old wizard begin to panic.

"You see Albus," Harry Potter stated calmly, "You brought this upon the world yourself, I just harvested the whirlwind to my own gain."

* * *

Vess Kogo watched his "student," the sarcastic smirk that touched the edges of his lips as he trained the brat to be the pawn his master wanted. 

The idiot had actually believed him when he had implied a plan to kill off his master.

The actual plan was an adaptation of one of his masters teachers, raise a pawn to oppose you and use the pawns actions as a reason to do more. He had to admit that Sidious was a master manipulator, his own memories from his other life had confirmed it with how Palpatine had treated Vader when he was working with the armored titan of the Galactic Empire.

Vader had been his first teacher in the ways of the force, and then Sidious had taken over after the disaster at Yavin.

Now he wondered in his deepest thoughts if Lord Vader had been preparing to break away from the Emperor and ascend to become the Master.

The question was pointless, especially with Lord Dion having revised the rule, two leaders above the rest, but they were all Sith in the end. Dion was the ruler of the coming empire, and his Knights would serve him and his apprentice when he took one.

His attention returned to the present as Vess almost broke out laughing while the Malfoy boy was overwhelmed by the single remote.

He really had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Apparating into the darkness, Voldemort suppressed a sadistic grin. 

The Dark Lord had first found this location before that night when he fell to the boy, and only now with the vicious series of losses because of that thrice damned Dion and his army.

It was a place he viewed with the same almost holy reverence as his fathers family did the Holy Land. Moving slowly as a small group of his followers, Bellatrix and a half dozen curse breakers that he had managed to charm to his side, as well as the vampire centurion.

It was the Tomb of Salazar, the hidden vault containing the place of his honored ancestors eternal rest after being murdered by Godric.

The intricate pattern of the Slytherin family crest, expanding from the personal seal that Salazar used, was illuminated on the floor with an eerie and pale green light charmed into the very stones themselves.

It seemed almost alive with the two shapes of twin snakes in a spiral that extended from the walls of the circular chamber to the crest in the center.

Then the ceiling lit up with a silver light as they reached the center of the entrance vault.

"I'm sorry old friend," Tartarus whispered softly as he placed a hand upon the sigil in the center, "But the last of your line requested this of me."

And with a push of his own magic into the sigil, the two coiled snakes separated, lowering down as they did to reveal a pair of staircases that descended from the entrance and into the blackened void below.

The silver-armored vampire rose to his full height, panting slowly as he did.

"This is as far as I may go," he stated slowly, "You must proceed without me."

Voldemort nodded slowly in response, knowing that the centurion was beyond his own power for the time being. And with the vampire having been present when the tomb was first constructed, there was a distinct possibility that it was protected against vampiric intrusions...

...or this entire charade was a trap in and of itself.

* * *

She slowly opened her eyes to the noise, and then jerked the rest of the way to awareness as motion at the edge of her night vision caught her attention. 

Heavy footsteps brought her to sitting as she fumbled for her wand.

It had only been two days since she had finally gotten out of the psyche ward after what had happened in that god forsaken school.

Now she had an intruder to deal with.

Then she saw them, two glistening blood red eyes, right as her fingertips brushed her wand. The shock jarring her enough that it slipped away to fall between the bed stand and the bed.

The being came, the color of rusty metal.

"Statement: My master orders your death, Meatbag!"

She started to panic.

"Musing: He did also wish for me to not allow this to be linked to him, so my usual equipment is out."

The beings odd pose as if thinking startled her.

"Statement: However, this reminds me of a saying, 'There is more than one way to skin a toad,'" HK-47 continued while producing a small scalpel and advancing on Dolores Umbritch.

* * *

Reg ducked under one of the lower branches as he scanned the wooded lands around him. 

He was one of the four ARC's deployed to ensure the coming spectacle would not be interrupted.

Lord Dion had set forth the first portion of his plan to advance the wizards out of the dark ages. The plan started simply, use speeder bikes for a public race, and while the new bikes were not up to military grade as the BARC's were, they would outperform any of the brooms available in speed and agility.

A race where Dion had personally sent invitations to some of the best on Brooms to come and learn for two weeks before the race and then he was giving out tickets to the event.

Hogsmeade was the selected location, or rather just outside of it, with a portion of the track going through the Forbidden Forest.

That was where the problems had begun, the Acromantulas had decided to move in to the cleared area and the Centaurs had been tense and defiant even though the track had been placed away from their territory.

His team was assigned to deal with the problem of the monstrous spiders while another group would handle the centaurs diplomatically. The arachnids deserved no such consideration, and their presence within the woods was already a disruption of the environment.

"Torch," he stated slowly to one of his three companions, "Target area ahead, you have point."

"Understood," came the gruff voice of the trooper as he moved ahead, the flame projector ready and ignited.

"Shadow," Reg continued, "Cover the rear."

"And me boss?" the last member of the team questioned.

"Stay with me, Drag, we'll follow Torch in."

"Roger that Reg."

* * *

Mara smiled slightly as she guided the young girl. 

Her master and Crimson had seemingly adopted the child, and with her apparent force sensitivity, the decision to train her was made.

Ge'tal held the training saber to tightly as the red haired Imperial Knight helped her through the motions of the first motions of training with a lightsaber.

"Loosen the grip," she chided the girl, "Leaving marks that deep in the grip will only lead to pain if you run into something that can withstand the strike."

The girl grimaced, muttering a curse in mandalorian as Lady Jade proved the point with her own lightsaber.

She retaliated as Mara summoned another of the training sabers to her hand while clipping her normal blade to her belt.

The training blades crashed repeatedly, a fierce grin crossing Mara Jades lips as her trained eyes recognized the signs of instinctive force use to enhance the body. Emotions flaring was one of the easiest times for the signs to appear.

"Keep your guard up," she stated slowly as she scored a hit on the girls wrist, leaving the child hissing as the sting of the training sabers contact almost made her drop the blade.

A quick adjustment to her stance and they continued.

* * *

Dion grinned behind the mask as he watched the session behind a one way mirror on a raised platform. 

"She has talent," he commented to his ever present sentinel.

"As any mandalorian should," Crimson stated slowly, the brief tone of worry had touched his voice before suppressing it.

"You have raised your daughter well my friend," Dion responded casually, "I am most impressed by her progress."

"That you M'lord," came the guardsmans answer with pride audible in his tone, "I will be sure to relay your comments to her."

* * *

Across the wizarding world, several people were shocked and many former students of Hogwarts gave a cheer before reading further in their morning papers. 

Doloes Umbritch, former teacher at Hogwarts, had been found dead at the town square of Hogsmeade just after midnight. Her death was attributed to damage inflicted after apparently being skinned alive.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore had felt age weighing heavily upon him since his fateful meeting with his former student turned Lord of Azkaban. 

He had been hoping for Harry to defeat his previous failure as a teacher, only to now see the boy fall to a greater darkness than Tom Riddle had.

He blinked as the light filled the small chamber he was in, not enough space to sit or even lay within an almost vertical tube.

"Hello again Albus," he heard Harry say slowly, almost as if the new monster was taunting him, "I believe it is time I begin taking my vengeance upon you."

A brief pause, "What was it that you once said to me."

A pause.

"Oh yes, 'Death is but the next great adventure.'"

Another pause.

"My teacher had encountered someone who had a similar philosophy, and had perfected the appropriate punishment for one with that belief," Harry continued, "To give eternal death, but never a chance to pass on."

Water slowly began to fill the tube.

"Sidious had found some of the most interesting creatures one such thing was a fist sized insect that was quite voracious," came the voice of the emerald eyed one, "They would swarm and could devour even the bones of their victims."

The old wizard wondered where Dion was going with this.

"They were called Piranha Beetles, and as I don't have any to use myself," Harry continued, voice becoming in tone most like a child telling a secret, "I will have to make due with normal piranha's."

The water stopped at his neck and then he saw small vents open, allowing large fish to enter around him and panic started to set in. He recognized the type from stories from his own Uncles younger years when the man had explored the world and told him and Aberforth all the stories of the glories and monsters of the world.

A slight trickle of liquid before him, running slowly down the side of the tank, but he wouldn't be able to stop it.

Blood touched the water.

And then the pain began.

* * *

He felt white almost as if the color had a distinct texture to it. 

A deep breath of air and his eyes opened up, leaving the wizard feeling younger.

Then Albus realized that he couldn't move but as his eyes opened, they locked onto the tube still full of frenzied fish ripping at what was still in the bloodied water.

And then the ancient wizard screamed.

* * *

**Review Responses****  
Saetan: **Here is part 4  
**RevanLah:** No Star Forge for Harry, even Revan didn't know how to build one. He'd found it and the Star Forge was an ancient Dark Side artifact even there. HK was built by Revan which is why Harry could build a copy.  
**maleficus-lupus:** First off, thanks for the review. I'd figured that the original version needed to be redone and I'd started the first version before seeing Revenge of the Sith. HK-47 is one of my favorites as well with his own quirks making him all so fun to watch cause mayhem.  
**Red Bes Rackham:** Thanks. My main goal is to have a Harry who goes all out in his grab for power. And a Sith Lord fits that profile quite well. Voldemort does not fit the profile of a Sith Lord, he has let his lust for power override his common sense as most villains do, while Harry has the ability to break through that in his own quest to gain power. As for who Harry is up against, at the moment his only real enemy is Voldemort, the rest are just his pawns that he can manipulate to achieve his goals. He used Dumbledore as a way to gain vengeance on the old man as well as humiliate the leadership of the Ministry. Then he used the general incompitance of said ministry to give himself the public support and achieve the position of Minister of Magic while exterminating Death Eaters along the way so that he can use their terrorism as an excuse to manipulate more people. For Hermione and Ron, they would still end up in Hogwarts for their last years at Hogwarts and until later would really have little direct affect on Harry's path for a while. I am planning on bringing them into it for the Speeder race that Harry is setting up in the next chapter.  
**covered in blood'n gore:** Thanks  
**Shadow Starfire:** Yep, I like fitting little pieces of the EU into this and the KotOR cast is some of the most well known. All four of the Knights come from various parts of Star Wars as well.  
**theman:** I'm not really sure if Tartarus will end up dying in this, he's only involved because he was a friend of Salazar Slytherin when the man was alive. I also needed a credible physical fighter for Voldemort to have available, especially with Greyback being terminated by Crimson early on.  
**Shanecawley: **Yep, I'm continuing with the plan from the original to use the Stargate SG1/SGA universe to fill out the world I'm using. At the moment, the Seth situation is going to involve a sidestory I'm working on that covers his capture and SG1 will show up in it for a brief moment. 


	5. The Oncomming Storm

Ron Weasley was wondering about the event that everyone had gathered to watch.

He was curious about it, but his fathers enthusiasm was still showing.

With the Order in shambles, if it even still existed beyond the publicity in the Daily Prophet, only the leaders had been imprisoned and charged with high treason against the government and the crown. Those who were imprisoned were also rather well known, and only one was known to be dead.

Mad Eye had tried to resist arrest and had been gunned down by the white armored soldiers of Lord Dion.

The only ones not in leadership positions with heavy punishments were the Aurors that had joined, they had lost their jobs and had only recently been released after two months imprisonment split between Azkaban and the newer prison built on the confiscated property of the Malfoy family.

That had brought a smile to his face when the ferret had lost everything.

And then he paused as an announcement was declared that the race was almost ready to begin.

* * *

Walking slowly out to his personal box above the private boxes, Dion grinned behind his mask. Mara and Mareek were in escort along with Crimson with a quartet of ARC's, the guards given the temporary position as a reward for their extermination of the spider infestation of the forest over the previous days. Ge'tal and HK were also in accompaniment, letting the young girl watch as a reward for the training she was going through under the training of Mara Jade. 

Ge'tal's excitement at the spectacle being orchestrated was something that made Harry feel good about himself. The girl seemed to have a similar enjoyment of high speeds and aerial acrobatics as he did.

Their arrival had drawn every eye in the crowd to him and remained locked on him until he had taken his seat.

The holodisplay in his chair lit up, displaying information about the race and various racers with the ability to watch the race itself.

One advantage to his mask was that legimency could not penetrate the lenses before his eyes, and he could still feel a few attempts to get through the physical barrier from the crowd, though with the throng the originators of the attempts were to indistinct to make out.

His eyes did notice some of those he had once viewed as friends, and while he held them no truly ill will, they were no longer among those he trusted enough to be called his friends.

* * *

The spectacle of the place bought a sense of awe to Hermione Granger as she waded through the crowd, heading for her designated seat. 

She had seen Dions entrance in one of the exclusive boxes above the normal seating where several of the VIP's were allowed to sit. The choices for who got those boxes was somewhat off, and while some fit as the more powerful families of the Wizarding World, the rest were filled with the families of the racers.

The assigned tickets were also done without regard to connections, an almost haphazard arrangement that only linked families together.

Then there was the amazingly high tech look and feel to this new attraction while denoting the few things that seemed like a nasty upgrade to a more muggle security system.

The young girl with their new leader was interesting, it seemed to the bushy haired witch that she could be the daughter of Dion, or perhaps the red haired woman with him. The plainly visible silver shaft of their unique weapons on the leader of the wizarding portion of the nation and several of his guards was also worn, in an albeit smaller version, by the girl as well.

She had seen pictures of the blades blood-red light that could deflect and destroy spells used on the wielder. Only a few weapons had seemed to be able to withstand their flaming might in battle and those were protected by ancient alchemic processes or with short term charms that did not seem to last for long.

Her thoughts returned to the girl as, for a brief moment, her features seemed an almost exact match for a younger Ginny. The child's hair was a much darker red, and her skin tone was darker, more of a Mediterranean look from the features than the usual european look.

She was also wearing what seemed almost like a tunic with shoulder guards and a cape of an almost obsidian coloration with the smooth and reflective surface that flowed with the grace of water.

Hermione was broken out of her thoughts as one of the displays before her seat chimed and flashed on, revealing data on the racers with their broom riding careers as well as a map of the track.

* * *

Breaker smirked from his position atop the arena. 

The new sniper rifle was a nice toy and the rebuilt squad was in position for an expected Death Eater attack. The alphas were equipped with them, all of them but Canderous who was inside watching the screens and scanners to give the fully ready members of the team any advanced warning they could get.

"Apparition signatures detected," came their still injured comrades tone, "Signature match confirmed, hostiles inbound."

Breaker was glad that the modified wards that came up when the event started could temporarily suspend apparition by a minute, allowing those watching the readouts to know someone was coming and attempt to match them to known magical signatures that Dion had copied from the Underage Magic Detectors.

Combining it with the temporary wards that prevented the spell to be used in the stadium or the track and its environs as well as the parts overlapped with the Hogwarts wards, it created a small area the team could cover with their weapons.

The materializing Death Eaters didn't stand a chance and were cut down almost as soon as they appeared.

"Like fish in a barrel," Taunt chuckled as he ended yet another of the dark wizards lives.

* * *

Harry watched Commander Hades signal him and grinned behind his mask. 

The Death Eaters had tried to make an attack on the gathering, probably as a way to discredit his protection of the populace. However, by using the modified wards he had funneled them into one area rather than allowing them to simply pop up among the crowds.

However, it one thing was beginning to worry him.

As of late none of the higher ranking Death Eaters that were still on the run had participated in the attacks, only new recruits that seemed to be primarily made up of recent graduates with leaders that would have been outright rejected from more than the followers mere months earlier.

It seemed that Voldemort was getting desperate and that was something that had him worried.

A cornered animal was far more dangerous than one who was in the open.

And concerning animals, he had also signaled the go ahead for another strike he had planned to deal with other raiders.

* * *

Privet Drive had been evacuated as of late, the people having been told of a potential terrorist attack. 

The truth was that the interrogation of a newly captured Death Eater in the morning gave the time for an all out attack on the place. Voldemort had apparently decided to study the remains of the Blood Wards on number four and wanted to rid the place of muggles first.

The place had a pair of V-Wings charmed invisible and a similarly cloaked LAAT, the creature transport variant.

The sensors locked onto the arriving dark wizards and a flick of a switch rose wards around the area. Ones designed to seal off the street as well as several surrounding blocks as they released their passenger and rose higher to watch the carnage caused by the Sith Dragon.

The first wizard barely managed to get a glance upwards before he was scooped up in the living leviathans jaws.

A blast of energy lit up a parked car like a roman candle as the black scales glistened in the flames while it smashed through the ruined vehicle to lunge and snag another of the masked wizards.

The gathered Death Eaters scattered in all directions, a few pausing to try to kill or slow down the dragon that had descended upon them.

The tail shredded a streetlight, sending shards of steel and glass mixed with sparks flying in all directions as it roared. A swipe with its claws left three dying and two dead in its wake before the sith dragon crashed through a house, raining debris over the block as it spread its wings.

Snapping up another before tossing this one high into the air before catching the wizard in its waiting gullet, the Dragon continued its attack.

Another small stream of condensed energy burst out, coring three houses and ten times that many death eaters as the beast continued its rampage through the streets.

Talons leaving deep grooves in the asphalt as the lumbering dragon moved through the warded area. It paused to sniff the air and turned to face another wizard and devoured him whole before leaping at others that had taken to hiding in another building.

Its leap was slowed for only the briefest moment as the last dregs of the blood wards around number four collapsed followed by an implosion when the energy imploded on what it was meant to protect.

The pillar of smoke and fire rose high above the earth while the sith dragon roared at its prey's defiance.

* * *

Three of his curse breakers had fallen to the defenses of the tomb, forcing Voldemort to proceed far more cautiously instead of turning back in defeat. 

One had been skewered by hundreds of spikes coming from the walls, ceiling, and floor along an entire corridor. Another was disintegrated and the last seemingly skinned alive in a flash of amber light.

Of the others, only some quick thinking had kept one alive though now missing an arm from the shoulder down after acid sprayed over the wizards arm.

The near pitch black of the passages had the serpent lord on edge as well.

Then he saw two of the statues ahead of him begin to move.

"Battle golems?" he muttered to himself as he dove for cover.

* * *

While being an amusing distraction, the race's primary goal was to begin the technological advance of the wizarding world. 

Harry had his own swoop built early on for some of the early raids he accompanied the ARC's on, something customized for his own advantages compared to the heavier duty BARC's they used. Theirs were built with heavier armor and greater lifting power to support the mounted weapons and their armored riders while his swoop was built with speed and agility far greater though it lacked the armor and firepower.

The bikes of the racers weren't up to that caliber and only had half the power, being designed for those used to the feel of brooms as compared to the advantages speeders held over them as a way to utilize their current talents in making the race interesting for the observers.

Dion paused when the half way mark was passed by the last racer, a flash of warning from the force.

"Jade, Stele," he ordered quickly, "Something is about to happen, protect Ge'tal."

Turning to the startled girl, "Stay with them."

"Crimson," he continued, "Take the guards and prepare for an area evacuation, I'll handle this myself."

"Sire?" the guardsman asked hastily, confused.

Nodding slowly as he slipped his lightsaber from his belt and tucking it into his sleeve while reaching out with the force to confirm his feelings.

"At the moment it is a group of assassins aiming to deal with me," the sith lord stated slowly, "They have underestimated me and are expecting to deal with a politician, not someone with my power."

A slight pause as a smile crossed his lips behind the mask, "My greatest concern is that this will be a setback to the rest of my plans or that the little one will be injured in this mess."

He turned his chair to the door, "And it will be good for the public to see me in action, to show that I am not content to just order action, but I will be a part of the action myself."

"Understood sire," Crimson stated slowly, "However I will be ready to aid you if necessary, and I will be watching."

"I would expect nothing less from you old friend," Harry answered, pleased by his trusted body guard.

Another pause as an interesting signature appeared in the force.

"And send a message of congratulations to Tann and Kogo for the one who is to come," he added with a slight chuckle, "New life is such an interesting thing."

Crimson paused as he slowly came to an understanding of his masters words, "May I add my own congrats to that message my lord?"

"Yes," came the response, "I believe that I can expect great things from the child."

And then the moment of lightheartedness ended, "But for now we have the current situation to deal with."

* * *

Voldemort winced as rubble crashed on top of him while the Golems morning star crushed one of the ornamental pillars lining the room. 

Ten foot tall and cast out of nearly solid, cold iron, the Battle Golems were a relic from the wizarding wars with the Goblins and even then they were exceedingly rare for several reasons. Not the least was that the cost in materials and manpower was oppressive along with the rarity of those who could actually charm Cold Iron. In the end each of the Golems cost far more than any castle would have.

Magic wasn't the solution and so he drew his ancestors blade from its place at his waist. In the dim light of the tomb it burned jade in color as he rose from cover.

It was then that a slow grin crossed his lips as the pair of golems froze and then retreated to their positions guarding the doors to the inner chamber.

The snake king could not help but grin to himself as he saw the reaction to the relic of the greatest of his ancestors.

That grin vanished as he realized that of his team only he and Bellatrix were intact and only one other was among the living.

* * *

The half-dozen assassins entered the ministers box, forming a half-circle around the masked Sith Lord who had yet to turn to face them. 

"So you believe that you will be enough to face me?" came the far to calm for comfort voice of the target as the chair slowly turned to face them.

"Six on one doesn't seem quite so fair," Dion commented as he slowly rose to his feet, armored boots clicking sharply on the tile floor of the booth, "Allow me to even the odds."

A brief pause and sapphire lightning leaped from his gauntleted hand, coursing over one who let out a shriek of pain while bones were briefly visible through the flesh. That pause ended quickly as the smoke curled slowly from the fried corpse of the unwary assassin while the others realized that their momentary pause had now cost them dearly.

He released his cloak to the ground, revealing the black tunic he wore underneath to give him mobility while the larger piece of clothing fluttered to the ground. His lightsaber seemed to materialize in his hand as he moved the crimson blade extending slowly with its distinctive snap-hiss.

"Shall we begin?"

* * *

"Keep together," Crimson ordered the four ARC's that had been guarding the booth as they noticed more assassins gathering at the base of the stairs. 

"We have three between us and the armory," Reg stated calmly to the rest of his squad, "Should be quick, but watch your ammo, we don't have that much."

Jade and Stele had taken the girl out another passage while they aimed to ensure that Dion wasn't dealing with more than he could chew by taking out the reinforcements while having the security teams deal with the evacuation.

The assassins started to move towards the main entrance to the booth and Crimson motioned for the others to begin the attack.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Torch was the first of the group to open fire, his heavy blaster pistol's first shot hitting the throat of one of their enemies.

* * *

The assassins had frozen when their target reacted like a coiled serpent and had slain one of their number before the fight had even begun. 

"Do you fools even understand what power truly is?" Harry asked rhetorically as h telekineticaly snatched another and slammed him first into the ceiling and then the floor before ramming the man into one of the walls hard enough to leave a dent and a spatter of gore while the body slid to the floor in a heap.

He paused then waiting for them to make the next move, lightsaber at the ready after a brief figure eight.

Dion did not have to wait long before they attacked with spells.

Another fell as a deflected spell seemed to dissolve the chest, leaving only three of the six assassins still alive when he moved again, a mere blur before bisecting another with the energy sword from shoulder to waist.

"Is this the best you have?" he asked casually.

The Sith settling into adding a few hints of Dun Moch to his attacks, an attempt to infuriate them. Drawing on their anger to feed on as he fought, insults and chiding as he toyed with them.

"Come fools," he hissed softly, drawing on the power the emanated.

Fear, anger, and hate flowing freely and intoxicatingly as he lashed out with his blade, severing the arm of one of the remaining pair before reaching out and snatching the remaining arm.

His hand shattered the wand while yanking the man up off the ground before twirling and throwing the man to slam into the wall while the uninjured one fled out the side door.

"Pathetic," Harry commented slowly as he walked up to the crippled assassin, casually inspecting his gauntlets while extinguishing his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt, "I expected more from such an 'elite' order of assassins."

"What is it you call yourself again?"

A brief pause as Dion faced his prey, "Ah, yes, the Shadow Blades."

Raising his hands slowly, "You know, these gloves are more than they appear, in looking through my teachers archives I uncovered the useful piece of technology."

"Their creators had outlawed them for being to brutal," he whispered in the mans ear while placing a hand on either side of his head, "They called them Crushgaunts."

"Why are you telling me this?" the crippled man asked in confusion.

"Well they can easily," a pause as the gauntlets enhansed strength let him shatter the mans skull, "Crush bone, and you won't be around to tell anyone anyway."

* * *

"Hades," the ARC Commander heard over the comlink in his helmet from Crimson, "Assassins going after Dion, Knights escorting Ge'tal, and the rest of us are holding off hostile reinforcements." 

A pause as blaster fire and the harsh snarls of shouted spells.

"Close off the Ministers Box and send backup, we cannot let them escape."

"Understood," came the response a fraction of a second later.

He turned to the jet troopers, "Prepare for assault actions, we have hostiles making a run for it after trying to take out Lord Dion."

"Yes Sir," came the identical shouts of affirmation from all of the present troopers.

* * *

Crimson poured fire into the retreating assassins with a blaster rifle he had commandeered from the small arsenal placed for the arena guards. 

These fools had no idea they were caught until the blasters started firing and the internal defenses had sealed them off from trying other avenues of escape when combined with the specific wards for the earlier ambush to deal with the Death Eaters.

And dealing with these fools had to have been hired by someone with a petty grudge as all of the major enemies of Lord Dion had ways to distinguish themselves and would be above contracting out or to proud to do so to begin with.

* * *

The last of the six Shadow Blades let out a snarl of annoyance and a muttered curse as he dashed through the side corridors. 

A flash of light and pain tore into his leg, dropping him to the ground tumbling down a trio of stairs.

It burned, but he could still feel his feet.

Eyes rose to see the small girl that was the companion of their target standing there with one of the blades of fire that Dion bore and a second that ignited in her free hand, moving it to his throat.

"My master will be pleased," she stated slowly with a terrifying grin.

* * *

**Review Responses**  
**Saetan:** Thanks  
**konradamkool:** At the moment his forces are all but unstoppable but they are still mortal men and can die. His forces will eventually get to full power as this continues. I'm also trying to give him a somewhat credible challenge to deal with along the way. And HK will have more appearances as this continues, and his destructive and sadistic sides will be shown in their full violent glory. I've also revealed his first apprentice in this chapter, but there will be other Sith he will train, Harry isn't playing by Bane's rules  
**cover in blood'n gore:** His main use for the ARC's is that they are the best he has, his special forces and beyond normal soldiers. They are also more adaptable than the standard soldiers. Thus he uses them for a lot of things and does similarly with the Commando Teams. Other than perhaps Crimson, they aren't really capable of becoming the governors that would be needed and there will always be only a small number of ARCs.  
**theman:** Thanks 


	6. Until Forever

"It was foolish to let her take your lightsaber Mara," Dion chided his servant as they sat in the back of the assault shuttle leaving the arena.

"I apologize milord," the red haired Imperial Knight answered, bowing her head for a moment, "She reacted before I could stop her."

"Yes, she has gotten quick as of late," the masked Sith mused as he leaned back in his seat, "And her lightsaber skills have progressed to the point where a training saber is not needed for most things."

A pause as he contemplated his next action, "Take her to gather the parts for her own blade, I have located a suitable sample for her to use to make the crystal."

"Yes sire," Mara Jade answered with a slight grin.

"If she progresses well enough," Harry continued, "She will be sent to Hogwarts until their Christmas break to begin the magical portion of her training."

"If I may?"

"Yes my dear?" came the sarcastic response.

"Why send her there, wouldn't you be a better teacher in those arts?"

A slight chuckle from the masked darksider, "While I have been given great insight into the ways of magic, the Sith Arts are where my greatest power lies, and sending her there would be a sign that I do trust the school that the ministry I head controls."

"So it is a political move?"

"Partially, Ge'tal is isolated as it is, she needs to have a chance to mingle with others of her age," he stated slowly, "Being able to manipulate others is a skill that must be born from interaction or she will not understand that portion of her powers."

"Does Crimson know about this plan?"

"Partially, but he does not yet know I had decided to send her now."

* * *

Crimson grinned as he stood by the open side of the LAAT with his masters personal assassin.

With the attempted murder of his companions and himself, Dion had mind probed the last living member of the group sent after them to find out just who had hired them.

The Sith Lord had sent three of his servants to deal with the situation.

HK and Maarek had joined him for the mission to punish the one responsible, though HK seemed to only be along for the bloodshed rather than to actually prove a point.

It would also be an adequate test of his new toy, a modified version of the E-Web, but equipped with a backpack based power pack and a remote level droid brain to regulate it. All in all, it was designed to improve on what he was already used to with the rifle grade repeating blasters.

"No mistakes," he ordered calmly, "We can't let this bastard get away with trying to assassinate Dion."

"Statement: While Master ordered me to not interfere with the brain dead meatbags, this will be a wonderful reward for my...restraint."

"We're coming in fast," Mareek called down from the cockpit, "Already past the wards."

Crimson paused, wishing for a moment they had brought troops to man the gunships turrets at this point as his eyes tracked the massive mansion ahead while the sky began to darken.

* * *

The skylight imploded an instant before the guardsman dropped through, weapon at the ready followed by the rust colored, highly deranged, assassin droid.

Blaster fire lanced out to scorch the room the instant before the imperial knight and pilot dropped in to join them.

"We have ten minutes until pickup is in position," the lightsaber wielding one commented as his crimson blade lit the room to hiss softly as rain began to fall.

Crimson nodded as he called up the map of the place on a holoprojector taken from one of the many pouches on his belt.

"This way," he stated, signaling the direction to the location that had a human life sign while hoping their initial attack had crippled the wards on the place.

* * *

Drakenfeld was a small place hidden from muggle and most magical eyes as well by a family allied with Salazar. The family had intermarried with the Gaunts before being totally absorbed by them and the Slytherins before all three lines merged into one, in the end ceasing to exist save for a footnote in a few texts, but the descendants of Slytherin had kept the place as a hideaway for their various plots through the centuries.

Now, Voldemort had use of the place, making it a garrison of sorts for his minions that had been revealed to the public as well as a staging post that was used sparingly and only on missions of high importance to the serpent lord.

With the beginning of the true war between Dion and Voldemort coming into the open, it had only been a matter of time before it was discovered. This fact was something that was met with disbelief with the time it had lasted in secret while being one of the places various dark wizards of that line had used to terrorize others from was a known piece of history.

In the end it's location had fallen just as many of Voldemort's other hideaways, proving once more the power of the force on the weak minded and combined with two very cooperative rescuees that had managed to escape the so called dark lords service alive..

However, Dion had used this information to test one of his more unused allies and one of his first since his takeover of Azkaban.

The soft rain and darkening clouds had hidden their approach, but once their aura's were felt, it was to late for those inside the ancient manor to even try to escape.

Nearly five hundred of the augmented and upgraded dementors descended upon the hiding place of one of the few men that had managed to aggravate Harry before his ascension to become the Dark Lord of the Sith.

And thus the screams began to fill the ancient domicile while two wizards serving Dion moved through the carnage caused by the alchemically enhanced dementors.

"Hello Peter," Karkarof stated casually at one of those involved at his own capture.

The rat was panicking like he never had before.

He had survived an attack by more Dementors than he had ever seen, and these were far more dangerous than the ones that haunted the nightmares of many a wizard.

Then there were two of the wizards that he had assumed dead.

The first was a brother of Sirius who he had turned in to the dark lord in exchange for being allowed to try to prove himself to Voldemort. At the time, he had believed that Voldemort was going to win and it was just a matter of time, which had led to him pledging his loyalty to the Dark Lord in exchange for a position in the new order the man promised, and then it seemed that fate had thrown a curve ball by terminating his new employer.

But with the dark wizard on the rise in power once more, the betrayer had tried to regain his favor, but once more it seemed that destiny was thrown into chaos with a new power emerging that managed to deal crippling blows to both sides of the magical shadow war between light and dark.

Now it had seemed like most of their ventures sent them straight into a combat zone filled with armored soldiers and flashes of light that burned and killed.

And with the dementors arriving, he had at first assumed they were the new allies his master had spoken of, but then the screams began.

Now he was alone with two who wanted his head as they dragged him through what they said was Azkaban.

* * *

Voldemort advanced, with a forced calmness, into the innermost sanctum of the Tomb of Salazar.

His eyes widened as he saw what lay before him, hallways stretching out in five directions forming a star lined with shelves of books and items until their ends in treasure rooms.

But that was not what had him transfixed, it was a glass tube full of a bubbling liquid of barely transparent blue. He walked cautiously towards it pausing to stare at the thing in wonder.

Gold devices of arcane manufacture sat both above and below, keeping it perfectly clear and giving the details about just what was inside.

The being was alive, if only just, asleep for over a millenia now.

"Salazar," he whispered almost reverently, not noticing the figure forming out of the dim light behind him.

* * *

Crimson felt more relaxed now as they left the ancient mansion with their prisoner locked up aboard the LAAT/i as it settled into its berth on Azkaban.

His first glance was at the action displays on his personal holoprojector and noting that the other mission was complete but still inbound to base. The teams captive was an interesting one as well. And with the wards keyed to the dark mark and two former members of the terrorist organization working for Dion, it made an adequate test of their abilities and loyalty.

The capture of someone who had personally betrayed his master and Dion's family, was far more sweet and a wonderful experience.

Now they would have to deal with one less member of the bastards of Riddles inner circle.

* * *

The rain had intensified as he was led into a chamber that was lined pilers matched with statues along the sides. The occasional crack of thunder and flash of lightning illuminated barely more than the magical torches placed along the outer wall.

Peter was terrified with the positioned soldiers paired on each side with one on each side of each statue and an opposite mirrored on the other side.

The shadows made the statues indistinct, as he was lead to a raised platform in the center where two side passages broke off and he could see what seemed to be muggle elevators in the corners.

His eyes, rat like even in his human form, widened as he saw the masked and cloaked form that was Lord Dion and the animagus squeaked loudly and redoubled his efforts to escape, his mind racing to understand just how he was trapped in human form.

"How I did that was quite easy rodent," the sith hissed.

Panic grew within his heart, this being was reading his mind.

"Yes," Harry whispered softly, "Yes I am, for one of Tom's Inner Circle, I can't say that I'm impressed."

A pause.

"You have no skills beyond changing into the form you should have been born in," the eyes of the mask glistened for a moment from the lightning, "And no real talent for independent thought."

A dismissive gesture as the guards forced him to the floor with the butts of the rifles.

"And as you see, I can take even your one useful quality away with ease," a gesture and he felt his hands jerk upwards almost as if of their own accord, "Simply by placing the cold iron bands on you, stripping you of even the magic you hold so dear."

"Why?" he finally stammered through the fear and dread.

"Simply because you betrayed me twice," came the response in a clipped tone that conveyed power and the fact of the statement as the hands went up to remove the mask once more, "And my parents as well."

"Ha...Harry?" the pathetic waste of flesh stammered as he noticed the rust colored thing joining them along with a very recognizable form.

"You!" came the angry and accusing snarl of Cornelius Fudge.

"Hello ex-minister," came the taunting laugh from the dark sider, "I am the one who you tried to have killed, and we were becoming such good friends."

"Potter!" the disgraced politician roared, "How dare you!"

"How dare I?" Dion chuckled, "Once again, you fail to see the facts, it was your own fault you fell from grace, I was content to allow you to live, but in the end by being so rude as to hire assassins, I have to deal with you more perminantly."

"Statement: Master, may I please deal with these disgraceful meatbags for you?"

A shudder of fear ran through both prisoners from the tone and the gleeful tone of the assassin droid..

"No HK," Harry answered his robotic servant, "I have something special in mind for them."

"Disappointed Statement: A pity master, the meatbags screams would have been most pleasing."

"True old friend," chuckled the sith, "But they have seen my trophies, have they not?"

"Trophies?" Fudge muttered, wondering just why that topic was brought up.

Then the answer hit them in a close flash of lightning that lit up the statues, revealing them as something more.

"Merlin, what are they?"

"Oh, it's quite simple, I have a unique device that was made to place people in suspended animation, or at least my version started as that," Harry explained, "However, I had it modified, those it's used on remain aware and alive, but cocooned alive within carbonite."

"You...!" Fudge gasped, "You're insane!"

"No my dear ex-minister," the sith lord whispered as he walked over to face him, "But with an unlimited life span when sealed away and yet fully aware of everything around you while being unable to sleep or eat, even blink, you will be."

He turned and started to walk away, signaling his guards to put them through the procedure.

"You will be."

* * *

**Review Responses**  
**Saetan:** You'll find out eventually, I'm making him rather devious in this one  
**Darth Devion:** I am working on it somewhat, but for the most part I'm at a brick wall in writing it, when I get it going again, I'll have more of it.  
**konradamkool:** HK was ordered out of it, Harry was using him as a backup plan if things got out of hand with the assassins. For the name part, the name Dion means Tyrant which is why I ended up using it. The main reason is that having his Sith Name plainly stated in the prophecy would have given to much away right from the start, so I used a name that someone looking might spot.  
**theman:** At the moment, he has no real plans for them unless they actively start working against him. His targets are those who were responsible for it, the trial only had them telling the truth, and Harry views them as rather childish for lacking disgression and will not want much to do with them. However, if nothing else, they'll suffer knowing that the end fate of the world is partially their fault.  
**chaosthesith89:** Thanks, here's part 6  
**Suidan:** Thanks  
**847:** The air force won't be very large for a while, Harry is keeping quiet as he's building up and it would be rather difficult to make a lot of fighters that can easily be hidden. His plan for the capital ships will involve fighters though and I still have Mareek's adventure to cover as well  
**covered in blood'n gore:** Unfortunately the link didn't go through, the easy way is to bypass the blocking is to put spaces in after the groups of punctuation. 


	7. The End Of Summer

Harry was contemplating what was on a datapad as he watched the first of the heavy transports lift off for its mission with a fighter escort.

The CR-25 was an interesting craft, and a this one had been set aside for a specific mission led by Stele in the hunt for a cult leader and with six of the various LAAT's and a large number of troopers, the mission should be an easy one.

The leaving transport only increased the necessity of what he was doing, picking more knights from the database he had of force users.

With Maarek Stele gone hunting for one of the fugitives for the time being and Sev'rance Tann's new pregnancy would halve his knights for some time. The problem was compounded by the mysterious warrior that Voldemort had added to his ranks.

While Tann and Kogo were discrete in their affair, he had sensed it and chosen to allow it. His knights would be treated as anyone else would as long as they did their jobs and did their duty.

It had required some shuffling of plans when combined with the plan for Ge'tal to attend Hogwarts for at least half a year. That made things difficult to complete his apprentices training, but by allowing the girl to train with his other knights for the physical training after Mara was done and allowing Tann to train the one he almost thought of as a daughter in the tactical and planning portions until she was able.

But even then, he was left understaffed for the four he would prefer to have active if not more at any time. Four would allow him to keep several in the public eye at various places and still be usable to aid other portions of his army.

He also realized that he would have to act quickly if he was to have them active before Sev'rance became incapable of any portions of her job.

But then the question came back to the front, he had to pick ones that would be trustworthy and obedient to his orders.

* * *

The first sign that there was something wrong was when one of the smaller side buildings shattered, sending shrapnel raining down upon the rest of the school. 

Beauxbatons had not existed for as long as Hogwarts or Durmstrang, but it was old enough to have become an institution that had covered several generations of students. It was due to its solidly anti-dark approach to magic with the headmistress' alliance with Dumbledore prior to the old wizards arrest for treason and sedition that had drawn Voldemort's wrath to the school.

Another thing that had prompted the choice was that Dion was apparently restricted to legal actions within France without permission, making this a decent first test of his new toys and powers without that bastards forces interfering.

The two golems had been refurbished to remove the wear that the ages had cost them and adding to their armor and weaponry.

But even without those upgrades, they outmatched the surprised and unaware school while alarms began to sound in earnest.

Voldemort stood there on a hilltop to watch the destruction these ancient engines of war wrought upon those he stood against. He now carried the staff of his ancestor, a symbol that he believed himself ready to face his latest adversary.

This destruction was the perfect thing to watch as the french Aurors arrived to see the madness he had unleashed upon the world, the first time toys like the ones he now employed had been used in over five centuries.

And one of the three european schools fell in an hour of destruction.

* * *

Crimson grinned as he watched Ge'tal work on her lightsaber. 

She was growing up, something that he'd never gone through himself due to the way he was cloned. The gril was a wonder, having learned what he could about the various weapons the coming empire had at its disposal from blasters to vibroblades.

In his mind she had learned the essence of what he'd viewed as his native culture, a mandalorian and yet one training to become something far more.

She would be the second Sith to walk the earth.

And as the mandalorians had several times in their existance, their destiny would ride with the Sith.

* * *

The Lambda-class shuttle descended from the clouds, wings folding up as it neared the ground as the twin escort fighters circled twice before joining the shuttle in landing. 

He had watched the first steps of the recovery effort.

It seemed strange that Voldemort would come out of hiding to lash out at a group that was uninvolved, while inflaming the international wizarding community.

Harry hated being surprised and this time was no exception.

It also gave him the beginnings of a new plan to aid in expanding his power base.

Harry smirked slightly behind his mask as the others required for the meeting arrived.

Two of them he recognized, McGonagall and Maxime were there as well as a handful of observing teachers from the ruined school while a few members of the French ministry were there as well for his offer, though only the two school heads would really have a real say in his suggestions.

"With the unfortunate loss of Beauxbatons," he stated slowly and clearly, his voice quiet enough to give the hint of casual thought while just loud enough for those listening in to hear with ease, "It leaves quite a gap, and thus with the oversight the ministry I now head has upon Hogwarts, I believe I should give a temporary solution to the coming problem."

"Which one?" Maxime asked, a moment faster than her counterpart could.

"The fact that you will have students coming soon, and with only a few weeks until the schools begin while there is no place to teach here," Dion responded in an almost hesitant tone, "So I'd like to put forth temporarily shifting the students to Hogwarts until the school can get back on its feet."

"Where would these children stay," Minerva asked in annoyance, "And who would teach with the teachers you still have in your dungeons."

Harry paused for a moment before laughing, deep and booming, "Those that I arrested were convicted of treason and trying to start a rebellion, especially the vaunted Albus Dumbledore who founded the organization while co-opting several of the aurors into breaking the very laws they had sworn to uphold."

He paused for a moment to consider the rest.

"For the time being, there are also the remaining teachers from Beauxbatons who would have no home or employment until the school is ready to reopen, and so adding them to the staff, allowing Madame Maxine to assume your old position until there is a school for her to return to headship over," he stated calmly, "And as for housing, that should be rather easy, I could have structures in place within a week should I issue the order for that purpose."

"Would it not be easier to simply order them to rebuild Beauxbatons itself then?" the old transfiguration teacher turned headmistress of Hogwarts commented.

"Unfortunately not," Harry responded with a slow shake of the head, almost as if in disappointment that it couldn't be done, "The buildings I'm speaking of were designed as barracks for soldiers that can be quickly erected and can last for centuries if need be, they do not have the right setup for a full school."

A slight pause.

"And with both schools having a quite noticeable lack of qualified teachers," the Sith Lord continued with a slight hint of the power of the force on the weak minded fools, "Both fill the gaps in the other for the moment."

He rose to his feet from the table, his cloak swirling slightly, "And it would also be beneficial for another reason that it wouldn't hurt to announce now."

All eyes locked on the masked force wielder.

"I have decided to allow my apprentice to attend for the year," he stated slowly, "Her training in the abilities that both myself and my knights possess are nearing a plateau stage where until she grows older she cannot learn many of the skills to complete that training and so, I've come to the conclusion that she needs to learn the basics of her magical abilities."

"I would have assumed you would have done so yourself?" the cat animagus asked slowly.

"To some extent I could, but my own teacher had years to prepare for a student and even then I was not his first," Dion stated slowly, "And my own skills with the more normal magical arts is something that is not far more than the basics while the other abilities are what was emphasized during the end of my own."

"And she also needs some time around others of her own age," he added, "Isolation to that extent is not healthy for one so young, and even the minor bit the wizarding world as a whole has taken to is one of the many ills that irks me in my new position."

Crimson leaned forwards and whispered in his ear.

"I must apologize," the Sith Lord quickly stated, "There is something at home that requires my personal attention, so I must be off."

With a half bow, he was off while signaling the half dozen LAAT's to land to allow his troops to aid in the recovery effort for the school.

* * *

It was a nightmare, Igor noted as he and his current partner dropped into position. 

They had used the new uniforms to remain anonymous with the full squad of ARC's that had come with them, but they had hoped to find some sign that proved this wasn't caused by what it seemed to be.

He and Regulas had been sent to aid in an investigation of a murder that seemed to have been caused by someone with a lightsaber. That, in and of itself, was a terrifying prospect as all of the known wielders had been accounted for. All four Knights, Dion, and Ge'tal had their presence known.

Tann and Kogo were at the new prison when it had happened during the race and the Aurors involved in the preliminary investigations found no trace of time manipulation.

The monitoring office had been the site of the attack, the same one that monitored ex-cons and underage wizardry. With the wreckage of the devices that monitored all of the area covered by those laws and the scattered and burnt records, they had no idea what, if anything, had been taken or what the goal of the attack was.

What they did know was that there would be a lot of work to deal with the now unwatched section of the wizarding world.

* * *

Dion stepped out of his shuttle and onto one of the landing pads of Azkaban. He had already sent orders for the cloning to begin with four new knights. 

"M'lord," he heard Vess state slowly as the man stepped from the shadows, "It has begun, the skifter has been played.

* * *

Ge'tal smiled slightly as she slowly ran her hands along the contours and controls of the completed lightsaber. During construction she had memorized every inch of her weapon, inside and out. 

The distinctive snap-hiss as she activated the blood red blade for the first time, a moments thought on the ruby she had been given, one that had a width the length of her thumb before faceting it for the blade.

A testing swing made her grin before spinning it in an infinity before powering it down to slip it into place on her belt.

The black, sith robes fluttered as she slipped the hood up, the end hanging down to conceal her face, a style she had found in her masters databases of Sidious' world. Her own talents had so far been the strongest in perception and understanding, which had led her to search for information on the abilities concerning her strengths and had uncovered a race called the Miraluka that had required it due to a loss of eyes.

It was that style she had chosen, dressing like they did with some modifications that would make her enemies underestimate her when she went to Hogwarts.

A part of her was disappointed that she would need to build another lightsaber at a later date since Dion had said she was to have a normal wand during her time at the school and a lightsaber crystal not formed as the knights ones had, not to mention the fact that she required a Shoto for the time being and would need a normal lightsaber when she had grown.

Her master had given her a gift as well to signify her step to become a full fledged apprentice, giving her a special cloak based off of the spells in his own invisibility cloak but with a trigger other than just wearing it.

Ge'tal walked slowly to the sparring room, using a telepathic signal to Lady Jade that she had finished, ready to show one of her many mentors her new weapon.

* * *

**Review Responses****  
Saetan:** Thanks, I am still working on this.  
**theman:** Part of how he's going to control them is by focusing on those who are loyal and not cloning the ones he intends to train as Sith. 


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